NewsFrom the Archives to the Stage
By David Bearinger Elizabeth “Betty” Ann Pitts was born into slavery near Onancock, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. In 1853, she married Parker Pitts, a free man, although the state did …
NewsHands On History
A set of gnarled dentures hang in mid-air. It rotates, exposing dents, ridges, and wear, either from use or years. “Those are actually human teeth,” says Peter Hedlund, the lead …
NewsTelling Untold Stories
These three fellows—of the dozen typically in residence at VFH during an academic year—are each at work on a biography of a relatively unknown figure whose story illuminates an era.
NewsThe Stars On My Grandfather’s Face
By David Bearinger Zenen Zeferino is a master of the musical and poetic tradition known as Son Jarocho that is native to the Gulf-coast and southern plains of Veracruz, Mexico, …
NewsThe Legacy of Kepone
Gregory Wilson, professor of history at the University of Akron, is researching the history of the Kepone disaster that took place in Hopewell, VA in the 1970s. Wilson recently sat down to talk with us about what he’s learned during his fellowship at VFH.
NewsThe Lost Art of Cherokee Letterpress
In 2009, VFH fellow and book artist Frank Brannon, began work with the Oconaluftee Institute for Cultural Arts in Cherokee, Norther Carolina, to revitalize the nearly lost art of Cherokee letter press printing. Now, he talks about his with the Cherokee community, as well as history of the Cherokee written language itself.
NewsBlock the Vote
Millions of African Americans were emancipated in 1865 and given the vote. By 1901, almost all of them had lost that vote. What happened in those intervening years? VFH’s Encyclopedia Virginia explores the history of the Readjuster Party in Danville, VA and how it changed Virginia politics forever.
NewsMeet VFH Board Member Lauranett Lee
Lauranett Lee was raised in Chesterfield and was inspired to study history by a professor at Virginia State University. Recently, Lauranett sat down with Elliot Majerczyk in our radio studio to talk about her love for history and the importance of the humanities.
NewsRemembering the Forgotten War
While researching and cataloging the many World War I memorials throughout Virginia, Virginia Humanities fellow Lynn Rainville became fascinated with the extensive, and little explored, role that Virginia played in the Great War.
NewsRob Vaughan to Retire as Founding President of VFH in 2017
Robert C. Vaughan III, one of the leading advocates for the humanities in America today, will step down as VFH president after forty-three years of organizational leadership.
NewsMeet VFH Board Member Renee Grisham
Books are and integral part of life for Renee Grisham. She was first introduced to VFH through the Virginia Festival of the Book by her husband, celebrated author John Grisham. Recently, Renee sat down with Elliot Majerczyk in our radio studio to talk about her love for books and her favorite things about VFH.
NewsMeet VFH Board Member Ed Ayers
University of Richmond President Emeritus and Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities, Ed Ayers may be best known as one of the voices on VFH’s BackStory with the American History Guys. But he was also the …
NewsThe Flip Side
A portrait of an unknown man from 1825 has a secret that shows the violence at the heart of slavery.
NewsMeet VFH Board Member Jo Ann Hofheimer
VFH Board Member Jo Ann Hofheimer talks about her love for books and the importance of the humanities.
