Determined : the 400-year struggle for Black equality

Author

Karen A Sherry

Call Number

• 305.896 S5539 (CEN)

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Publication Information

[Richmond, Virginia] : Virginia Museum of History & Culture ; Lewes, UK : in association with D Giles Limited, [2021]

Physical Description

176 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps, portraits ; 25 cm

Summary

'Determined' presents a concise overview of Black history in Virginia from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in Virginia in 1619 through the groundswell of racial justice protests of 2020. These four centuries encompass slavery and emancipation, segregation and the civil rights movement, the election of the first Black president and the rise of Black Lives Matter. Throughout this complex history, Black people have fought for freedom, justice, and opportunity and against oppression, discrimination, and dehumanization. Their efforts have brought meaningful changes to American society by forcing the nation to define the meaning of its highest ideals of democracy and universal equality. Arranged chronologically, this book explores 400 years of Black history through the stories of key figures and events in Virginia that shaped the fight for Black equity. A few of the individuals featured include John Punch, whose punishment for attempting to escape bondage in 1640 began the codification of a system of slavery that spread throughout the original Thirteen Colonies, and Nat Turner, who shocked the nation with a slave revolt in 1831 that challenged the institution of slavery. John Mitchell, Jr. was a journalist-editor who championed Black pride and civil rights in the Jim Crow era, and Barbara Johns led a student protest that became part of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark Supreme Court decision dismantling legalized segregation. A new generation of activists like Zyahna Bryant continues the fight for racial equity today. Illustrations of historical artifacts and images bring to life these and other stories of Black determination and resistance. In association with the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Notes

Published in conjunction with the eponymous traveling exhibition, touring Virginia beginning in January 2021. -- Colophon.

Contents

• First Generations, 1619-1775
• First Arrival: Angela
• The International Networks of Slavery: Olaudah Equiano
• The Transatlantic Slave Trade
• Codifying Slavery: John Punch
• Race And The Law
• Suing for Freedom: Elizabeth Key
• Inciting Revolt: Sam
• Risking the Planter's Wrath: Bambara Harry and Dinah
• Slavery At High Tide, 1775-1865
• Revolutionary Choices: Ralph Henry and James Lafayette
• Liberte!
• The Emancipator: Jane Minor
• Emigrating to Africa: Lott Cary
• Slavery And Religion
• Seeking Freedom by the Sword: Nat Turner
• "Leader of the `Immortal Nineteen'": Madison Washington
• The Business Of Slavery
• Ingenious Escape: Henry "Box" Brown
• Abolitionist Cause Celebre: Anthony Burns
• Enduring Enslavement: Sarah Calwell
• Soldier in John Brown's Raid: Dangerfield Newby
• Civil War Contrabands
• "A Model Soldier": Miles James
• Emancipation Proclamation: Milestone On The Path To Freedom
• Progress And Backlash, 1865-1950
• Reconstruction Amendments
• Devoted Teacher: Mary S. Peake
• Black Political Leadership: Peter Jacob Carter
• Progress Through Respectability: Booker T. Washington
• HBCUS And Higher Education
• "The Fighting Editor": John Mitchell, Jr.
• Codifying Jim Crow
• New Negro Poet: Anne Spencer
• Eugenics and Marriage Law: Richard and Mildred Loving
• Seeking a Better Life and The Great Migration: Mary Johnson Sprow
• Breaking Barriers in Wartime: Clemenceau Givings
• Fighting For America And The Double V Campaign
• Equality Achieved? 1958-2626
• Fighting School Segregation: Barbara Johns Powell
• "From Brown To Green": Desegregating Schools
• Civil Rights Leader: Wyatt Tee Walker
• Landmark Legislation
• Hidden Figure: Gladys West
• Champion On and Off the Court: Arthur Ashe, Jr.
• Political Firsts: L. Douglas Wilder
• Change In 2008
• Musical Pioneer: Missy Elliott
• Environmental Justice Activist: Queen Zakia Shabazz
• Living Disparities
• The Rising Generation: Zyahna Bryant
• Small Steps, Big Impact: Bellen Woodard.