Description
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
Photo Credit: Eileen Costa
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.
BND Institute of Media & Culture 