The officers of Second Baptist Church, circa 1925 (Photo courtesy The Valentine)
The Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia's "Yesterday’s Stories, Today’s Inspiration" images, text and objects depict the often intertwined lives of families, commercial enterprises, religious institutions and social organizations, from the mid-1800s into the 1950s. The items, curated by Richmonder Elvatrice Belsches, were previously installed in two phases which are now together through Aug. 31.
Before we enter the display, I first want to take you into an adjoining gallery which has work by students of Art 180, “Faces of RVA,” a program led by artist Noah Scalin and assisted by Sheila Gray. Using portraits of African Americans from the collection The Valentine, the youngsters were encouraged to reproduce the images out of non-standard materials, and to write a little story about who they might’ve been.
Kalen Gillian’s picture-in-beads depicts the crusading Richmond Planet editor and businessman John Mitchell, Jr. Gilliam instead names him Timothy Davidson whom Gillian describes as an “African American civil rights activist born in 1863.” The fictional Davidson encounters real segregationist barriers when playing catch with this brother, and when thirsty, seeks a water fountain marked For Whites Only. He’s stopped by police. “They took me to their office and took this picture before I left.”
In reality, Mitchell, born into slavery in 1863, afterward took the fledgling Richmond Planet newspaper and turned it into a national voice for African American civil rights, to the point of risking his life investigating lynchings and attempting to intervene on miscarriages of justice. He rose in the community and with Maggie Walker, organized a 1904 boycott of the segregated Richmond streetcars and prior to the constrictions of Jim Crow, Mitchell served on the city’s Board of Aldermen representing Jackson Ward. He even ran for Governor in 1921. He founded the Mechanics Savings Bank but in 1922 was accused of misusing funds. The legal battle went to the Virginia Supreme Court and he community rallied around him. The charges were dropped but the thrift went into receivership in 1923, leaving Mitchell financially and physically exhausted. Although still editor and publisher of the Planet, the old fire had gone out.
Young Gillian’s alter ego to Mitchell speaks of disillusionment. Mitchell, too, fought against this, and a sense of despair that despite all the efforts by himself and others that the white power structure was too vast and systemic racism intractable.
Yet … the imagery and pieces of life one can see in the Yesterday’s Stories/Today’s Inspiration represent families and family businesses that continued throughout the 20th century. Here are gowns worn by contralto Marion Anderson – who received a NAACP Springarn Award from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on July 2, 1939, in front of a packed house in what was then The Mosque (Altria Theater). In April, Anderson sang in front of 75,000 people and radio microphones from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Here, too, is the shoe cleaning box and plaque honoring Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the genius entertainer. In April 1933, Robinson dedicated a traffic signal at the corner of Adams and Leigh streets to assure the safe crossings of Armstrong High School students. That same weekend that Robinson came to Richmond, he danced for what turned out to be the last and least attended “Beaux Arts Ball” held at the Jefferson Hotel. Though Robinson danced for whites dressed in costume finery based on the court of Florence’s Lorenzo de Medici, he wasn’t permitted to stay.
Here, though, are images of triumph, in breaking social barriers, in civic life in peacetime and when at war. Near the end of the exhibit, is an image from the Jackson Ward-based Brown photography studio, a “Group Portrait of Men Dressed In Tuxedoes,” c. 1910-1920. No description of the occasion is made available, but nonetheless an image of celebration.
Outside this space is a student exhibition of 29 vibrant pieces by Richmond Public Schools students, titled "Tomorrow's Hope."
The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia's admission is $10 and is open Tuesday though Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.