“Arthur Ashe: An Enduring Legacy” spotlights both Arthur Ashe’s early life in Richmond and his travels throughout Virginia, the U.S., and beyond that made him a true Citizen of the World.
Artifacts, images, and documents help tell the story of how Ashe’s accomplishments, both on and off the tennis courts, impacted our global community.
A technology-based, immersive presentation of memorable moments in Ashe’s life, this exhibition will be presented through BHMVA’s partnership with UCLA, Ashe’s alma mater.
Today, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), First Vice Chair Troy Carter (LA-02), and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement:
As the nation continues to reflect on the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., the Congressional Black Caucus reaffirms our deep gratitude for his extraordinary contributions to American democracy and global human rights. His impact cannot be confined to a single moment of remembrance; it demands continued recognition and renewed commitment to the ideals he advanced.
For more than half a century, Reverend Jackson stood on the front lines of the movement for justice, equality, and human dignity. From marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement to building institutions that empowered millions, his life’s work helped move our nation closer to its founding ideals.
Through his courage, his voice, and his unwavering faith, Reverend Jackson earned a place of honor not only in history but in the hearts and minds of tens of millions of people around the world. People of every race, creed, color, faith, culture, and background found inspiration in his message that dignity belongs to us all. He spoke to the poor and the powerful, to the young and the elderly, to those in small towns and those in the largest cities. His life reminded us that justice is not reserved for some but must belong to everyone.
Reverend Jackson helped organize the Poor People’s Campaign and was present during some of the most defining moments of the civil rights era. After Dr. King’s assassination, he carried the work forward with determination, ensuring that the movement did not end but continued to grow.
Through the founding of Operation PUSH and later the Rainbow Coalition, he built one of the most influential social justice movements in modern American history. These efforts expanded economic opportunity, fought for fair employment, strengthened access to education, and gave voice to communities too often unheard.
He registered and mobilized millions of voters, helping reshape American democracy by expanding participation in the political process. His historic presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988 broke barriers, inspired new generations of leaders, and brought millions of Americans into civic life who had never before felt seen or represented.
Reverend Jackson also carried the cause of justice beyond our borders. He helped secure the release of American hostages abroad, advocated for peace in areas of conflict, fought against apartheid in South Africa, and stood in solidarity with oppressed people across the globe. His voice for human rights was heard around the world.
At home, he championed workers, farmers, students, veterans, and families striving for opportunity. He stood with sanitation workers demanding dignity, defended family farmers facing foreclosure, advocated for greater access to education, and called for economic fairness long before those conversations reached the national stage.
His message was clear and enduring: every person matters, every voice counts, and our nation is strongest when we lift those who have too often been left behind.
“Keep Hope Alive” was not simply a phrase. It became a moral call that inspired generations to believe that progress is possible when people stand together.
Many of us serving in Congress today walk paths that Reverend Jackson helped clear. He challenged America to live up to its highest ideals, pushed leaders to act with courage, and reminded the nation that democracy works best when it works for everyone. The Congressional Black Caucus honors his extraordinary contributions to this nation and to humanity. His life stands as a testament to faith in action, courage in the face of adversity, and an unshakable belief in the power of people coming together to build a more just society.
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., made America better. He made the world better. And his legacy will continue to guide generations yet to come.
Derrick Adams and Valerie Cassel Oliver Fri, Feb 27 | 6:30–7:30 pm
Join us for a conversation between artist Derrick Adams and VMFA’s Valerie Cassel Oliver, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. They will explore Adams’s studio practice and his determined effort to provide a creative haven for Black artists through The Last Resort Artist Retreat, his project in Baltimore, Maryland.
You can see Adams’s work at VMFA in the exhibition Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys and in the museum’s 21st-Century Galleries.
Derrick Adams is a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Adams’s work celebrates and expands the dialogue around contemporary Black life and culture through scenes of normalcy and perseverance. He has mounted public installations, commissioned through Monument Lab, in Washington DC, Chicago, and New York City. In addition to being included in notable exhibitions such as Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, his art resides in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and VMFA among many others. Adams has been the subject of solo exhibitions at several museums, and in 2026, a mid-career survey will open at ICA Boston on April 14.
Learn about the history and current work of African American churches in Richmond from Benjamin Ross, church historian of Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church and Dr. J. Elisha Burke, program director of SACRED SPACES.
From the establishment of early pre-civil war African American churches through post-civil war and Reconstruction years, the African American church served as a hub of religious and social life. By the late 19th century and early 20th century, many churches provided assistance to aid formerly enslaved people and their families. During the civil rights movement, African American churches served as physical platforms for meetings and rallying services.
Today, African American churches continue their responsibility to care for the less fortunate and bring attention to the social injustices affecting the Black community. African American churches in Richmond remain active in social justice and civic engagement activities, specifically through the SACRED SPACES initiative which enables the Baptist General Convention of Virginia to provide training for new and current church historians.
These Community Zooms are at a new time of 12:30 p.m., so grab some lunch and join us online!
VCU’s Community Health Hub March 5, 2026 12:30 p.m.
The Junior League of Richmond April 9, 2026 12:30 p.m.
Guidelines
Prior to joining a session, attendees are encouraged to check that Zoom is working properly on their computers or devices by testing it at https://zoom.us/test.
At the start of every session, attendee’s microphones will be muted. This allows everyone to hear the organizers and presenters clearly. Attendees will be invited to unmute their microphones and speak at different times during the session.
If you have questions or comments while others are speaking, you can type them in the chat.
As at physical events, attendees are asked to help make sessions inclusive of all participants by using respectful language and allowing others to speak, even if they disagree with viewpoints being expressed.
VCU Libraries reserves the right to remove attendees from sessions for disruptive behavior.
For special accommodations, or to register offline, please contact Ryan Larson, event manager, rbpander@vcu.edu or 804-828-0593.
In this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, one American woman’s vision in post WWII Germany will tie together three people in an unexpected way.
Ethel Gathers, the proud wife of an American Officer, is living in Occupied Germany in the 1950s. After discovering a local orphanage filled with the abandoned mixed-race children of German women and Black American GI’s, Ethel feels compelled to help find these children homes.
Philadelphia born Ozzie Phillips volunteers for the recently desegregated army in 1948, eager to make his mark in the world. While serving in Manheim, Germany, he meets a local woman, Jelka, and the two embark on a relationship that will impact their lives forever.
In 1965 Maryland, Sophia Clark is given an opportunity to attend a prestigious all white boarding school and escape her heartless parents. While at the school, she discovers a secret that upends her world and sends her on a quest to unravel her own identity.
Toggling between the lives of these three individuals, Keeper of Lost Children explores how one woman’s vision will change the course of countless lives, and demonstrates that love in its myriad of forms—familial, parental, and forbidden, even love of self—can be transcendent.
——AMAZON
From Sadeqa:
Many of the events require advance registration and tickets, so please click on Tour Schedule to get all the details. I’ll be joined by some incredible conversation partners, including Victoria Christopher Murray, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Sharon Kurtzman, and Tanya Sam, to name a few. I’m dropping the links for the first week here as well:Richmond, Washington D.C., New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Hampton. For additional cities, please visit my events page.
Pre-Order Exclusive VIP Experience with Sadeqa on Jan 28th, 7pm
As promised, I’m hosting a very special zoom VIP Experience on January 28, 2026 at 7pm EST, exclusively for my most loyal book clubs, readers, and friends. Your pre-order book receipt or your ticket to one of my upcoming events will grant you access. You don’t want to miss this special sneak preview of all things Keeper of Lost Children. Plus, I will be giving away a few very special prizes to my VIP attendees. You don’t want to miss this!
To join me for the VIP Experience, do the following:Follow me on INSTAGRAMEmail a photo of your pre-order receipts or ticket to tour event to sadeqabookstores@gmail.com. Please type VIP in the subject line. Then include your name, email address, and photo of receipt in the email.Tell five friends about Keeper of Lost Children and invite them to do the steps above and join us too!If you haven’t pre-ordered your book yet, you are in luck. Here are a few of my favorite independent bookstores happy to assist you, Uncle Bobbies, 44th and 3rd, Resist Booksellers, . And they will ship you a signed copy. Audio lovers, you can pre-order your audio copies here!
What can fashion tell us about the history of Black American women? The answer may not be obvious, but when so many 19th and early-20th century Black women have been ignored, misrepresented or erased in official documents, history books and museums, they can seem lost to us in the 21st century. Their existing material culture can be the key to unlocking their stories. The dresses they wore and the photographs that show their styling practices can tell us not just that they existed but can grant us access to their perspectives, opinions and the ways they positioned themselves in their Black communities and the wider American culture.
The 2026 Black History Lecture will explore examples of these fashion objects and how they can open a portal into a rich facet of American history.
James Branch Cabell Library 901 Park Ave. Richmond, VAThe event is free and open to the public and will be held in person and live streamed via Zoom.
Speaker Bio:
Elizabeth Way is curator of costume and accessories at The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology, where her recent exhibitions include Food & Fashion (2023) and Africa’s Fashion Diaspora (2024). She guest-curated “Ann Lowe: American Couturier” at Winterthur Museum Garden & Library (2023) and edited the books Black Designers in American Fashion (2021) and Ann Lowe: American Couturier (2023).
Way holds an M.A. in costume studies from New York University and a doctorate in fashion curation from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.
When: February 5, 2026 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: James Branch Cabell Library, 901 Park Ave. Richmond, VA
VCU Libraries’ Black History Month Lecture is supported by the Francis M. Foster Fund. Francis Merrill Foster Sr., DDS, was an assistant professor of general-practice dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University and a retired Richmond dentist. The unofficial historian of Jackson Ward, Foster was known for his health-care advocacy and for his desire to improve the lives of those around him.
Community partners for this event include VCU Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, the BND Institute of Media and Culture Inc., and the Foster Family.
VMFA, UR and Charlottesville’s Heritage Center host fall, holiday celebrations
Kasseem Dean (Swiss Beatz) and his wife Alicia Keys previewed their “Giants” exhibition at the VMFA.
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beats and Alicia Keys”opened at the VMFA on Nov. 22. Coming from the collection of Swizz Beatz, the stage name of American DJ and record producer Kasseem Dean, and Alicia Keys, the exhibition features over 130 works of art by 40 Black artists from Africa, Europe, the United States and the Caribbean.
Among the “giants” celebrated in this collection are both established and emerging artists and photographers – names such as Derrick Adams, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Amy Sherald, Nick Cave, Titus Kaphar, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Esther Mahlangu, Kwame Brathwaite, Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley.
Two of the featured artists will also participate in events at the VMFA.
Deborah Roberts is a mixed media artist whose work has been exhibited across the U.S. and Europe. On Thursday, Dec. 4, Roberts will give a talk titled “Practice, Practice, Practice” at 6:30 p.m. in the Cheek Theater. Its focus will be the balance of vulnerability, discipline and creative capital – the emotional, physical and imaginative forces – that shape how an artist creates and sustains a creative life.
Thursday, Dec. 11, Arthur Jafa will be in the Cheek Theater for an artist conversation with Enjoli Moon.
At 6:30 p.m. the following Thursday, Dec. 11, Arthur Jafa will be in the Cheek Theater for an artist conversation with Enjoli Moon.
Moon, who founded the Afrikana Independent Film Festival in 2014, will speak with Jafa about his use of cinematic qualities in his film and media.
For more than three decades, Jafa has created imagery that looks at how the Black experience is contructed and consumed in contemporary culture. His work includes films, paintings, sculptures and installations – included his time-based media installation which will be on view at the VMFA from Dec. 7-14 as part of the museum’s REWIND<<FastForward series.
Both of these artist events will be available to watch from home with Livestream
Check out the events on the calendar at the University of Richmond
UR Free Theater and Dance will present “The Meeting” in the Alice Jepson Theatre. This 1987 American play, written by Jeff Stetson and directed by Chuck Mike, imagines a meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in a Harlem hotel during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. An evening performance will take place Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee happening Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. Arrive an hour ahead of each performance to view the exhibition and experience the preshow activity in the Modlin Centre lobby and courtyard.
As part of the Department of Music Free Concert Series, there will be several musical offerings happening in the Camp Concert Hall that are free and open to the public although advance registration is encouraged.
Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.: Wagner and Kong Duo – cellist Christoph Wagner and pianist Joanne Kong will perform the Cello and Piano Sonatas of Frédéric Chopin and Dmitri Shostakovich
Sunday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m.: Global Sounds – a family friendly event featuring student and community performances of traditional Japanese, West African, Brazilian and Indonesian music
Monday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m.: Wind Ensemble – featuring classics in the Wind Band Literature, UR’s ensemble will perform a work by Gulda alongside artist-in-residence, Christoph Wagner
Monday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m.: Chamber Ensemble – presenting an evening of music performances by student instrumentalists, vocalists and pianists
Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.: University Symphony Orchestra – performing a varied program of repertoire that will feature cellist Ethan Rodgers-Gates and clarinetist Adam Kasti, winners of the orchestra’s 2025 Concerto Competition
In addition, the Office of the Chaplaincy and the Department of Music will hold the 52nd annual Candlelight Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sun., Dec. 7, 2025, in the Chapel. Two services will be offered – one at 5 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. The University’s Schola Cantorum will present new and familiar Christmas carols and anthems in the tradition of the “Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols” that was first held at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England, on Christmas Eve 1918. The services conclude with the lighting of candles by the congregation and the singing of “Silent Night.” Prelude music will begin 20 minutes before each service.
Tickets are not required, and seating will be on a first come, first served basis until we reach capacity. Doors will open one hour before each service.
Celebrate with the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center will host a special tribute concert honoring the music of Sade on Saturday, Nov. 22. “40 Years of Promise: A Celebration of the Music of Sade” will feature Ivan Orr & Friends performing favorites from Sade’s catalog.
This is a ticketed event with VIP and general admission seating available. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the VIP experience which includes food, drinks and preferred seating. General admission entry begins at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by clicking the link above.
JSAAHC will also host its annual Holiday Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 1 – 4 p.m.
RSVP at the link above for a free family afternoon featuring holiday music, professional photos with Black Santa and hands-on kids’ crafts, including making Mkeka mats and cookie decorating. Have some hot chocolate and apple cider, or enjoy the bites, beverages, sweet treats and wine tasting hosted by Black Women Who Wine.
Kwanzaa libation begins at 2 p.m., followed by music by the Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir. Professional photos with Black Santa and kids’ crafts will be available throughout the event.
The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center is located at the Jefferson School City Center, 233 4th St. NW, Charlottesville.
In observance of the 2025 Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, the BND Institute of Media and Culture is proud to recognize the life and legacy of renowned chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis. Since 2018, the BNDIMC has paid homage to Ms. Lewis’ gift and work through its annual Kitchen Talk series.Only in recent years has Ms. Lewis’ talent in developing recipes and menus and cooking mouth-watering meals —from a farm in Freetown, Va. to the bright lights of New York City and beyond — been acknowledged by wider audiences. We are thrilled to continue telling her story. Bon appétit!
Preserving the legacy of Edna Lewis is a ‘charge to keep’
The 2025 Family Reunion, hosted by Kwame Onwuachi at Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Va. last August, included author and documentary filmmaker Deb Freeman (left holding platter during a family-style luncheon). Freeman delivered remarks for a panel discussion about renowned culinary chef Edna Lewis (right). Photo of Deb Freeman by Clay Williams.
By Debora Timms
Black women have been an integral part of American food culture without the visibility and acknowledgment of being credited for it. This fact was explored during “Edna Lewis and the Legacy of a Black Woman Chef,” a roundtable discussion on Aug. 16 as part of the Salamander Resort’s Fifth Annual Family Reunion in Middleburg, Va.
Born in 1916 in Freetown, a rural Virginia community founded by formerly enslaved people, including her paternal grandfather Chester Lewis, the young Edna Lewis’s family taught her how to cook with food that was locally available. She left the farm for New York as a teenager, and would go on to become a trailblazer.
At a time when Black female chefs were rare, Lewis became the chef and partner in New York’s celebrated Cafe Nicholson in 1949, then went on to cook in other elite restaurants in the years that followed. By presenting the food and traditions of her childhood with simplicity using beautifully fresh, in-season ingredients, she redefined Southern cuisine and became an early pioneer of the “farm-to-table” movement that later exploded into a mainstream phenomenon in the 2000s.
“Edna Lewis and the Legacy of a Black Woman Chef,” was part of the The 2025 Family Reunion, hosted by Kwame Onwuachi at Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Va. in August. Cheryl Slocum (second from left), a James Beard award-winning writer and editor for Food & Wine magazine, moderated the discussion, which included culinary historian and cookbook author Dr. Jessica B. Harris (middle), as well as chefs Carla Hall (far right) and restaurateur Mashama Bailey (second from right. Photo by Bonnie Newman Davis.
Freeman is a writer and host of the podcast, “Setting the Table,” as well as executive producer of the award-winning PBS documentary, “Finding Edna Lewis,” which explores the life of the late chef and cookbook author. Freeman, who alos was born in Virgnia, provided an introduction and overview of the acclaimed chef’s life at Salamander last summer.
Southern food often has suffered a bad rap, she said in a recent interview with the BND Institute of Media and Culture.
“Edna Lewis turned that on its ear,” she said. “She got people talking about Virginia food and until then, it was often left out of the American conversation.”
The partnership at Cafe Nicholson certainly profited from Lewis’ talent and cooking skills by promoting her food, but not her. While she may have been instrumental in bringing Virginia into the culinary conversation, Lewis herself remained in the shadows.
During the Salamander panel discussion, moderator Cheryl Slocum, a James Beard award-winning writer and editor for Food & Wine magazine, asked author and culinary historian, Dr. Jessica B. Harris, as well as chefs Mashama Bailey and Carla Hall about their knowledge of Lewis. None could say they grew up knowing her as a household name, and it wasn’t until they started searching that they became aware of her. This even though the second of her four cookbooks, “The Taste of Country Cooking,” is considered a classic.
“I mean, I went to a French culinary school where Black women, Black people were not the focus,” Hall said. “You have to really dig and be intentional about finding them.”
Harris referenced an old Methodist hymn in declaring the responsibility to carry Lewis’ legacy forward “a charge to keep.” That intentionality is something each of the participants said they strive to give voice to in their lives.
Bailey does so as the award-winning executive chef and partner in The Grey, her restaurant in Historic Downtown Savannah, Ga., where female culinary influences such as her mother and Lewis inspire her cooking, and as chairwoman of the board at the Edna Lewis Foundation which works to honor and extend Lewis‘ legacy by creating opportunities for African Americans in agriculture, culinary studies and storytelling.
Other recognition has come since Lewis died in 2006.
Lewis was named an African American Trailblazer by the Library of Virginia in 2009, and was depicted on a U.S. postage stamp in 2014. In addition, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources unveiled a historic marker near her hometown in 2024.
However, Hall noted the need to be “be out there making her a topic of conversation.”
During her phone interview, Freeman addressed why these types of conversations are critical.
“So much of our history is oral, not written. Once it’s gone, it’s gone,” she shared.
For the past decade Freeman has used her writing and her podcast to explore Black foodways and the intersections of race, culture and food.
“Our ancestors had their language and their names stripped from them, but their legacy of food remains,” she continued, adding that this legacy is made up of the cooking techniques, seasonings and spices that create a direct link to the West African heritage of the past.
“If we are not documenting it and taking note, we’re doing a disservice to that ancestral past, but also to our more immediate family, our parents and grandparents.”
Freeman added that while it is heartening to see increasing numbers of Black writers and archivists, but stressed that more are needed because the work is “very difficult when there are not names and written documents to connect the dots.” Lewis’ legacy comes alive in these chefs and storytellers. But it also lives in every kitchen and every story that connects food to identity. Her work serves as a guide and a challenge – to cook with simplicity, to use beautiful food, to celebrate community and to honor those who laid the foundations. By doing so, the vision
Community members are invited to uncover “hidden gems of history” and hear local voices inspire future generations with “There’s No Mystery in Oral History.”
The AMMD Pine Grove Project, a descendant-led nonprofit dedicated to preserving the legacy of Pine Grove School and other Rosenwald-era educational sites, will host the special event at the Tearwallet Baptist Church on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. It promises to be a blend of reflection, education and celebration, exploring the power of using oral history to preserve Black heritage.
“Oral history is how we bridge generations. It is how we ensure the wisdom and witness of our elders are not lost,” said Sonja Branch-Wilson, AMMDPGP’s president. “This gathering is part reunion, part revival and all about legacy.”
Featuring a conversation with the Matthews Sisters, daughters of Cumberland and alumni of Pine Grove and Luther P. Jackson High School, the program will be moderated by Justin Reid, an organizer and public historian specializing in rural movement building and cultural right, memory and sustainability. He is known for his advocacy in documenting African American history across Virginia and beyond.
Attendees can expect a program infused with music, memory and mission. They will also learn more about Getting Word – the African American history department at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation home. Their oral history project seeks to record and preserve the family histories of Monticello’s enslaved community and its descendants in order to help shape programming and share a more honest history of the United States.
This exciting exhibition showcases 20 portraits photographed by Alvin Lester in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he set out to capture the people and businesses that defined Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward, as well as nearby neighborhoods such as Northside and Church Hill.
Lester photographed beauticians, bakers, real estate brokers, journalists, and others who formed the backbone of Richmond’s famous Second Street business district. There, Jackson Ward emerged, in the decades after the Civil War, as a vibrant center of Black community, business, and family life. Lester is particularly attuned to the role of small business in forming a city’s character.
Photographer Alvin Lester (center) is surrounded by his wife, Jackie (third from left), and a host of friends following his artist’s talk on Oct. 24 at VMFA.
Now part of the VMFA collection, Lester’s portraits are a lasting tribute to the strength and spirit of Black Richmond and a testament to the generational roots that continue to shape the city today.
Alvin Lester: Portraits of Jackson Ward and Beyond is organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and curated by Dr. Sarah Kennel, VMFA’s Aaron Siskind Curator of Photography and Director of the Raysor Center for Works on Paper. The exhibit continues through March 30, 2026. Details here.
BND Institute of Media & Culture 