A scene from "Hidden Figures," screening March 28 at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture as part of the Created Equal Film Series in honor of Grady W. Powell (inset)
When the Rev. Grady W. Powell came to Gillfield Baptist Church in 1961, Petersburg was far different than it is today. Businesses and public spaces such as the library were still segregated, but at Gillfield, Powell found an audience who was receptive to his vision of a more free Petersburg.
“The climate was right for me,” says Powell, 86. In fact, the church paid for him to participate in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march for voting equality.
“By a little pastoral maneuvering … I was named a member of what was called the Petersburg Biracial Committee,” he says. The committee was established to promote better race relations in Petersburg. He says that one night, the committee voted 5-1 in favor of integration of the public spaces in Petersburg.
“The next morning, almost as divine order, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that very thing in, and therefore we didn’t have to argue about it.”
Powell would go on to fight for racial and gender equality in and out of the church — so much so that the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC), on whose board Powell served, has instituted the Created Equal Film Series in honor of the retired pastor.
On March 28, the museum shows "Hidden Figures" at 6:30 p.m. in its 488-seat theater. The film follows the trajectory of three black women mathematicians who worked for NASA during the space race. Their genius was crucial in launching astronaut John Glenn into orbit, who was the first American to perform the feat. Michael Plumb, vice president for guest engagement at the museum, says the film highlights several of the same issues for which Powell fought in and outside of the church: human and civil rights, equality, and social justice.
Powell also sought gender equality within his church. Gillfield — under Powell’s leadership — became the first black Baptist church in the United States to ordain women as deacons.
“The church was almost 170 years old, and no women had ever been asked to be on the board of deacons,” says Powell. He says that at first the board of deacons didn’t take him seriously, so he worked the entire next year to move the process along, until the next meeting of the board, when two female deacons were ordained.
Powell says that since he started preaching, the world has changed a lot — and mostly for the better. He says, for example, the library in Petersburg, which used to open only its basement to black patrons, now has African-American librarians. When he was in school, he says, the University of Richmond was open only to white students. “My daughter is a graduate of the law school. That’s a change.”
But he says that it's important to stay focused the future as well. He quotes the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, saying, “Life can be understood by looking backwards, but can only be lived by looking forward.”
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture shows “Hidden Figures” on March 28 at 6:30 p.m. Preregister for free at virginiahistory.org.
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