Celebrating freedom, community, and the legacy of farming and land ownership
Courtesy, Footprints in the Garden
We are excited to invite you to our Juneteenth Festival at Footprints in the Garden, a historic farm that has been a cornerstone of agriculture in the Mount Olive community for over 142 years. Join us on June 21, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, with VIP activities extending until 9:00 PM. This year, we are celebrating freedom, community, and the enduring legacy of farming and land ownership.
Event Details:
June 21, 2025 12 – 6 PM VIP Activities extending until 9 PM. $5 General Admission / Entry Fee $45 VIP Package with Cookout
For just $5.00 per person, your entry includes a range of fun-filled activities, including one-on-one horse rides, scenic hayrides through the 4 Martin family farms, and a community panel, focusing on the future of agriculture and sustainable practices, and the opportunity to shop with local vendors. You’ll also enjoy live Southern Soul music, and a Dance Party to round out the day. Be sure to bring your fans, cowboy hats, and boots as we dance and groove to the rhythm of the farm. Don’t forget your lawn chairs to relax and take in the festivities in comfort.
For those looking to enjoy an elevated experience, we are offering a VIP Package for $45.00 per person. The VIP package includes all the activities of general admission, plus a farm-to-table meal prepared with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, access to an exclusive VIP Information panel where you can ask questions about agriculture, the impact the disruption of the food chain has on the country and an unforgettable evening of live music and dancing.
Whether you’re a family looking for a fun day out, an agriculture enthusiast eager to learn more about farming, or someone who loves the idea of dancing on the farm to soulful tunes, there is something for everyone. Footprints in the Garden is the perfect place to celebrate Juneteenth while connecting with the land and the people who make it thrive. Whether you live in the city or the country, we invite you to experience the charm of our historic farm and the warmth of our community.
We are now accepting vendor applications for the festival! Apply today to showcase your products and join the fun for only $20.00!
Venue Details
Footprints in the Garden 595 Mills Loop Road Mount Olive, North Carolina 28365
New Series Features Renowned Chefs and the Connections Between History and Cuisine
Courtesy Monticello News Release
Food Network star Chef Marc Murphy to headline inaugural program on June 26 and 27.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, announced today the launch of Culinary Diplomacy at Monticello. Presented in partnership with The Culinary Diplomacy Project, this dynamic new series will feature prominent chefs, culinary experts, and historians exploring the intersection of food, history, and culture.
Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s legendary dinners which were renowned for their cuisine and conversation, this series will share how food has been—and continues to be—a bridge for cultural understanding and communication.
“Food has always been a vehicle for connection, and there’s no better place to explore the power of culinary diplomacy than Monticello,” said Jane Kamensky, president of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. “By inviting today’s most innovative chefs to interpret historic recipes and share their stories, we continue Jefferson’s tradition of using food to foster community, curiosity, and conversation.”
Culinary Diplomacy at Monticello will launch during Civic Season 2025 and continue throughout 2026 with quarterly events. The inaugural Culinary Diplomacy programming this June will feature Chef Marc Murphy.
Guests can participate in two ways. On June 26, join us at the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center at Monticello for a Culinary Conversation with Chef Murphy. This program will feature Chef Murphy discussing his own global culinary experiences and attendees will have the opportunity to savor his specially-crafted dish inspired by the event’s theme. Tickets available here.
On June 27, enjoy a curated dinner menu and evening discussion with Chef Murphy. Each of the three courses will include Monticello-grown ingredients and draw inspiration from Jefferson’s years in Paris, where he embraced refined French cuisine. This intimate dining experience offers a rare opportunity to explore history through food, all while enjoying breathtaking views from Montalto, Jefferson’s high mountain. Limited seating is available. Tickets available here.
About Chef Murphy
Son of a globetrotting diplomat, Chef Murphy brings over 30 years of experience from kitchens worldwide to the heart of New York City. He appears regularly as a judge on Food Network’s top-rated shows including “Chopped,” “Guy’s Grocery Games,” “Guy’s Ranch Kitchen,” “Beat Bobby Flay,” and more. He currently hosts intimate private dining events at MM Kitchen Studio in New York City and monthly dinners at his pop-up restaurant concept, Marc179.
Today, Murphy’s involvement in the industry moves beyond the kitchen. Having led the Manhattan chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association and passionately supporting organizations like City Harvest, No Kid Hungry, Made by Dyslexia, and The Culinary Diplomacy Project.
In 2022, Murphy joined Chef José Andrés and his organization, World Central Kitchen in Poland, where he spent two months cooking for and feeding thousands of Ukrainian refugees as they crossed the border into Poland.
About the Culinary Diplomacy Project
The Culinary Diplomacy Project is a chef-driven nonprofit organization that sends prominent chefs to destinations around the world as representatives of American culture and cuisine. They use food, the great common denominator, to connect and learn about the people they are visiting, while also sharing their own culture. Following each international trip, the chefs engage with American audiences by participating in events around the country designed to share their experiences.
Through these activities the Culinary Diplomacy Project acts as a resource, builds networks, and brings communities together in an effort to bridge the cultural divide one bite at a time. For information, visit culinarydiplomacyproject.org.
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About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org.
The Commission will meet this month to approve the statue of Barbara Rose Johns for the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall Collection
The Barbara Rose Johns maquette as shown from the sides. Photo credit: Julie Langan/DHR.
RICHMOND – The Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol (the Commission) will hold its twelfth public meeting on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The meeting, which begins at 1:30 p.m., will be in the Reynolds Leadership Center on the 2nd Floor of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, located on 428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond.
At this meeting the Commission will review photographs of the completed bronze statue created by sculptor Steven Weitzman depicting the 20th-century civil rights leader Barbara Rose Johns, as well as receive an update regarding the statue’s production. After the statue has been given the final approval from the Commission, the Joint Committee on the Library, and the Architect of the Capitol, it will be installed in the United States Capitol as one of Virginia’s two contributions to the Statuary Hall Collection.
Production of the full-size Johns statue began after the Commission and the Joint Committee on the Library approved the maquette in 2023. The Johns statue will replace the statue of Robert E. Lee that was removed in December 2020. To recommend a replacement statue, the Commission had reviewed a list of names of historical figures submitted by Virginia citizens before selecting Johns from five finalists. The Joint Committee on the Library approved the Commission’s request to erect a statue of Johns in the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
The meeting agenda, as well as instructions for how to participate virtually and to register for public comment, are available on the Commission’s webpage. Though the meeting agenda includes time for verbal public comment, written comment is also welcomed and can be submitted to USCapitolCommission@dhr.virginia.gov.
For more information about Barbara Rose Johns, please visit this link.
The Department of Historic Resources, the Commonwealth’s state historic preservation office, provides administrative support to the Commission. Questions concerning the Commission, its purpose, and the upcoming meeting should be directed to the department.
Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook is hitting the road this summer, and her first stop is Roanoke! Join us on Wednesday, June 25 at 6 PM for the kickoff of Visionary Voices, a statewide series of events where you can meet the new Executive Director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP). Dr. Cook will share the inside scoop about how Virginia Interfaith works with community members, advocacy, organizations, and legislators, to impact positive social change. You’ll learn about legislation we work on advocating for maternal health, higher education in prison, affordable housing, and worker rights. This event will be held at Twisted Tracks Brewery, where guests are welcome to purchase their favorite beverages and snacks directly from the venue’s menu. Want to bring Visionary Voices to your area? We’d love to partner with you. To host a future stop on Keisha’s tour, please email Development Manager Tania Doles with your proposed date, time, and venue at tania@virginiainterfaithcenter.org.
Najee, Avery Sunshine and Will Downing are among the entertainment highlights during this year’s Capital Jazz Fest June 6-8 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md.
Nicole Moore and Joseph McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project will conduct cooking demonstrations in Meadow Farm’s outdoor kitchen on Saturday, June 7 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The life of the enslaved cook and other topics will be discussed.
The Slave Dwelling Project, in Henrico County, Virginia, focuses on preserving and educating people about the history of slavery, particularly by highlighting and preserving former slave dwellings. The project, founded by Joseph McGill, also encourages open dialogue about slavery and its legacy. Campfire conversations and living history demonstrations are among some of the programs the Slave Dwelling Project has hosted to bring attention to and raise public awareness about the stories they hold.
Joseph McGill’s Role: Joseph McGill, a descendant of enslaved people, is the founder of the project and has been actively involved in its initiatives. as well as others who were enslaved.
Preservation and Education:The project’s core mission is to preserve slave dwellings and use them as educational tools to understand slavery’s history and impact.
Dialogue and Engagement: Open conversations about the past, the enslaved, and enslavers are encouraged with the goal to reconcile how history has been taught and shared.
Events and Outreach:The project hosts events like campfire conversations, living history demonstrations, and open houses to engage the public and raise awareness.
The Virginia Higher Education Fund (VHEF) to host annual fundraiser for college students
Ready to experience the year’s most premier FUNdraiser like never before? Join the Virginia Higher Education Fund (VHEF) for its 14th Annual Jazz Inside Out! Sponsor’s Gala on Friday, June 13, 2025@ 7 p.m. The annual highly anticipated event will take place at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden & Bloemendaal House.
“We are elated to host you at this pictureque location, voted America’s #4 Public Garden by USA Today and recognized by the Travel Channel as a Best Botanical Garden,” said gala organizers. “Also home to the renowned Dominion GardenFest of Lights, Lewis Ginter’s spectacular annual Christmas light dispay, winner of Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights in the US for the last two consecutive years, this treasure trove of magical awe is the perfect backdrop to celebrate VHEF and enjoy Jazz Inside Out!”
The evening will feature enjoy delicious catered cuisine, live jazz music by the sensational Plunky & Oneness, local vendors, a silent auction, and a great time while soaking in the garden’s beautiful scenery. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best upscale casual attire that’s perfect for dancing to the vibrant soulful melodies of Plunky!
James “Plunky” Branch
According to gala organizers, “This will be a night to remember…we invite you to explore the garden freely & behold all of its brilliant beauty, as the sounds of jazz float through the lush, floral foliage!”
Since its inception, VHEF has grown its ministry of giving and support to local underserved youth as they pursue higher education. The faithful support of sponsors and donors has enabled VHEF to assist more and more students each year, according to gala organizers.
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is located at 1800 Lakeside Ave. in Henrico County. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: VHEF’s 14th Annual Jazz Inside Out!
Lemon Project’s Legacies Porch Talk features author and W&M alum Dr. Ravynn Stringfield
Join the Lemon Project on Thursday, April 17 at 5:30 pm ET for the next Lemon’s Legacies Porch Talk as author and W&M alum Dr. Ravynn Stringfield joins us to celebrate the launch of her new book, Love in 280 Characters or Less. Ravynn will read a selection from her work and then take part in a conversation. After the Porch Talk, come to Tucker Lobby to purchase Ravynn’s books. Ravynn will also be signing books in the foyer. Read more about Ravynn and register at https://events.wm.edu/event/view/lemonproject/363093 Dr. Ravynn K. Stringfield is an author, editor and artist based in Virginia. She served as a Lemon Project grad assistant during her time at William & Mary! Ravynn’s debut young adult novel LOVE REQUIRES CHOCOLATE was published by Joy Revolution on August 20, 2024. Her second young adult novel, LOVE IN 280 CHARACTERS OR LESS, from Feiwel & Friends, will release on April 15, 2025. Her book length fiction is represented by Leah Pierre of Ladderbird Agency. #thelemonproject#williamandmary#wmalumi#booktalk
RICHMOND – The Department of Historic Resources (DHR) has announced nine new historical markers coming to roadsides in Virginia. The markers will recall various topics in the Commonwealth’s history, including an important Native American trade route that was later used during military campaigns in the American Revolution and the Civil War; a 20th-century performing arts theatre in Norfolk’s Black business district that was dubbed the “Apollo of the South”; and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s visits to communities in southern Virginia in the early 1960s, right before the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the markers on March 20, 2025, during its quarterly meeting in Richmond hosted by DHR.
While it was formally established in 1866, the origins of First Baptist Church Bermuda Hundred in present-day Chesterfield County date to 1850. The church is located at a former central marketplace of the colonial period known as Bermuda Hundred, which became one of Virginia’s official trade ports in 1691. Transatlantic slave ships brought thousands of enslaved Africans to Bermuda Hundred to be sold. After circa 1750, when the demand for laborers increased in the newly settled southern Piedmont region of Virginia, Bermuda Hundred became one of the Commonwealth’s largest slave auction sites. Most enslaved Africans who disembarked in Bermuda Hundred, including many children, were sent to tobacco plantations, where planters profited from their labor. The Rev. Curtis W. Harris, a Civil Rights leader, became pastor of First Baptist Church Bermuda Hundred in 1959.
Two new markers highlight events that took place in Virginia during the nation’s Revolutionary and Early Republic eras:
The Old Carolina Road in Loudoun County was a Native American trade route that extended across Virginia, linking the Potomac River with the Carolinas. By the mid-1750s, the Old Carolina Road had become an important southward migration route for European settlers, who crossed the Potomac at Noland’s Ferry. The general corridor of the road corresponds to modern U.S. Route 15, though—like many colonial roads—its path often shifted. During the Revolutionary War and Civil War, the road facilitated troop movements through Loudoun County. In May 1776, Thomas Jefferson traveled on the Old Carolina Road to get to Philadelphia, where he attended the Second Continental Congress and drafted the Declaration of Independence.
American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were friends of Botetourt County native William Preston, Jr., and spent time in the county. Clark met his future wife, Julia Hancock, of Santillane, during a visit in the early 1800s. After their expedition to the Pacific Ocean from 1803 to 1806, Lewis and a group of Mandan Indians passed through Botetourt County on their way to Washington, D.C., and Clark was given a congratulatory address from citizens in the Town of Fincastle. Clark was in Botetourt County when he received his commission as a brigadier general of militia for the Louisiana Territory in 1807. He also got married in the county the following year. In 1810, the writer and future financier Nicholas Biddle met with Clark in Fincastle before editing the official narrative of the expedition.
The centrality of the Black church in Black communities of Virginia is exemplified in one new marker:
Dedicated on April 18, 1875, Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church in the City of Richmond was established to serve the residents of an area within the Sheep Hill community, later known as Carver. The Rev. William Troy, a founder of the church and its first pastor, was a freeborn man of color from Virginia. Troy became a resident of Canada before the Civil War and was a prominent abolitionist associated with the Underground Railroad. The Moore Street Industrial Institution, a school for Black students, was located on the church’s property. The acclaimed educator Virginia E. Randolph (1870-1958), who was known for her work with Henrico County’s public schools, was a member of the church. The congregation moved to its current location in Richmond in 1908.
Three approved markers focus on political and cultural events that encouraged Black people to embrace their African and African American heritage against Jim Crow and discrimination in early-20th-century Virginia:
In 1914, Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), an organization that promoted Pan-Africanism, Black economic independence, and racial pride and separatism. In 1918, the UNIA’s sixth division, or branch, was established in the City of Newport News. The UNIA eventually expanded to hundreds of divisions internationally. The branch in Newport News, where Garvey’s message resonated with maritime and industrial laborers, was among the largest divisions. Garvey spoke at the Dixie Theatre and at First Baptist Church in the city in 1919 to raise funds for the UNIA’s steamship company, the Black Star Line. Audience members were among the earliest and most enthusiastic investors. The UNIA was in decline by the 1930s.
Nicknamed the “Apollo of the South,” the Attucks Theatre was built in 1919 in the City of Norfolk’s thriving Black business district. Designed by Black architect Harvey Johnson, the Attucks Theatre was financed, constructed, and operated by African Americans. It was named for Crispus Attucks, who was regarded as the first casualty of the American Revolution. Known as the Booker T. from 1934 until it closed in 1955, the theatre was a venue for concerts, movies, plays, and community events, and was listed in the Green Book, a 20th-century guide for Black travelers. Artists who performed at the theatre included Ruth Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie. The theatre’s rooms upstairs served as offices for Black professionals. Attucks reopened in 2004 after renovations.
On October 24, 1925, Upsilon Omega became Richmond’s first chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority, Inc., the first Greek-letter organization founded by Black women. Aligning with the sorority’s principles of scholarship, leadership, and service, this graduate chapter focused on supporting students in public schools. The chapter’s inaugural president was Dr. Zenobia Gilpin, a Black female physician during Virginia’s Jim Crow era who organized clinics in Black churches that were emulated elsewhere and who overcame racial inequities in the healthcare industry. Members of the chapter also included Janet Ballard, international president of AKA, and Dr. Grace Pleasants, the first Black national program director of the Girl Scouts of the USA. The chapter began to meet at Fifth Baptist Church in the 1980s.
The Board also approved two markers that recall the Civil Rights Movement in Virginia in the 1950s and ‘60s:
In Lancaster County, Brookvale High School opened to serve Black students in 1959, five years following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education declaring public school segregation unconstitutional. Brookvale replaced A. T. Wright High School, and the Crusaders Political and Social Club, a civil rights organization, met in the school building frequently. In 1969, the Brookvale Warriors won the last state baseball championship overseen by the Virginia Interscholastic Association, the league for Black schools. The county fully desegregated its schools in the fall of 1969. After that, the Brookvale building became an intermediate school. Brookvale’s last principal, Dr. Elton Smith, later became Virginia’s first Black public school superintendent.
On March 28, 1962, during a “People to People” tour of communities in southern Virginia, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church in Dinwiddie County. King and other officials of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference also made stops between Hopewell and Lynchburg, where they addressed crowds and went door-to-door to encourage voter registration and to recruit civil rights workers. King’s visit to Mount Level was planned by his chief of staff, the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, who was a former pastor of the church. At Mount Level, King spoke to a full house of people about the importance of voting as a pathway to equality and justice for all. He also visited Dinwiddie County’s Rocky Branch community.
Following the Board of Historic Resources’ approval of the markers, it can take upwards of six months or more before a new marker is ready for installation. The marker’s sponsor covers the required $3,000 manufacturing expenses for a new sign.
Virginia’s historical highway marker program began in 1927 with installation of the first markers along U.S. Route 1. It is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,600 state markers, mostly maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, except in those localities outside of VDOT’s authority.
Full Text of Markers:
(VDOT must approve the proposed location for each sign in its right-of-way; local public works departments must do so in jurisdictions outside VDOT’s authority.)
First Baptist Church Bermuda Hundred
First Baptist Church Bermuda Hundred traces its origins to 1850 and was formally organized ca. 1866. The Rev. Curtis W. Harris, a Civil Rights leader, became pastor here in 1959. The church stands on the former central marketplace of Bermuda Hundred, which became one of Virginia’s official ports in 1691. Transatlantic slave ships brought thousands of enslaved Africans here to be sold. When demand for labor surged in the newly settled southern Piedmont after about 1750, this became one of Virginia’s largest slave auction sites. Most enslaved Africans who disembarked here, including many children, were marched to tobacco plantations in the interior, where planters profited from their labor. Sponsor: Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia Locality: Chesterfield County Proposed Location: 4601 Bermuda Hundred Road
Old Carolina Road A Native American trade route that traversed Virginia, linking the Potomac River with the Carolinas, passed by here. By the mid-1750s, this “Carolina Road” had become an important southward migration route for settlers of European descent, who crossed the Potomac at Noland’s Ferry 3.5 miles northeast of here. Like many other colonial roads, its path often shifted, but its general corridor corresponds to modern US Route 15. During the Revolutionary War and Civil War, the Carolina Road facilitated troop movements through this area. In May 1776, Thomas Jefferson traveled this route to Philadelphia, where he attended the Second Continental Congress and drafted the Declaration of Independence. Sponsor: Lucketts Ruritan Club Locality: Loudoun County Proposed Location: Lucketts Community Center, Lucketts Road just east of US 15
Lewis and Clark in Botetourt County Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were friends of Botetourt Co. native William Preston Jr. and spent time here. On a visit early in the 1800s, Clark met his future wife, Julia Hancock, of Santillane. After the expedition to the Pacific Ocean (1803-06), Lewis and a group of Mandan Indians passed here on their way to Washington, D.C., and Clark received a congratulatory address from the citizens of Fincastle. Clark was here when he received his commission as brigadier general of militia for the Louisiana Territory in 1807 and was married here in 1808. Nicholas Biddle, a young writer and future financier, met with Clark in Fincastle in 1810 before editing the official narrative of the expedition. Sponsor: Virginia Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail Locality: Botetourt County Proposed Location: TBD
Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church, originally several blocks east of here, was dedicated on 18 April 1875 to serve an area of the Sheep Hill community later known as Carver. The Rev. William Troy, a founder of the church and its first pastor, was a freeborn man of color from Virginia who, as a resident of Canada before the Civil War, had become a prominent abolitionist associated with the Underground Railroad. On the church’s property stood the Moore Street Industrial Institution, a school for Black students. Church member Virginia E. Randolph (1870-1958) became widely known as an educational innovator through her work in Henrico County’s schools. The congregation moved here in 1908. Sponsor: Moore Street Missionary Baptist Church Locality: City of Richmond Proposed Location: 1408 W. Leigh Street
The Garvey Movement in Newport News Marcus Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914 and launched its sixth division, or branch, in Newport News in 1918. The UNIA, which expanded to hundreds of divisions internationally, promoted Pan-Africanism, Black economic independence, and racial pride and separatism. The branch in Newport News, where Garvey’s message resonated with maritime and industrial laborers, was among the largest. Garvey spoke near here at the Dixie Theatre and at First Baptist Church in Newport News in 1919 to raise funds for the UNIA’s Black Star Line, a steamship company. Audience members were among the earliest and most enthusiastic investors. The UNIA was in decline by the 1930s. Sponsor: City of Newport News Locality: City of Newport News Proposed Location: Intersection of 23rd Street and Jefferson Avenue
Attucks Theatre The Attucks Theatre, known as the “Apollo of the South,” was built in 1919 in Norfolk’s thriving Black business district. It was financed, constructed, and operated by African Americans and was designed by Black architect Harvey Johnson. Named for Crispus Attucks, regarded as the first casualty of the American Revolution, the theatre was a venue for concerts, movies, plays, and community events. Performers here included Ruth Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie. Rooms upstairs served as offices for Black professionals. The theatre, known as the Booker T. from 1934 until it closed in 1955, was listed in the Green Book, a guide for Black travelers. It reopened in 2004 after renovations. Sponsor: City of Norfolk Locality: City of Norfolk Proposed Location: 1010 Church Street
AKA Upsilon Omega On 24 Oct. 1925, Upsilon Omega became Richmond’s first chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the first Greek-letter organization founded by Black women. This graduate chapter, following the sorority’s principles of scholarship, leadership, and service, focused on supporting students in public schools. Inaugural chapter president Dr. Zenobia Gilpin battled racial inequities in health care and organized clinics in Black churches that were emulated elsewhere. Other members included Janet Ballard, international president of AKA, and Dr. Grace Pleasants, the first Black national program director of the Girl Scouts of the USA. The chapter began meeting at Fifth Baptist Church in the 1980s. Sponsor: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Upsilon Omega Chapter Locality: City of Richmond Proposed Location: 1415 W. Cary Street
Brookvale High School Lancaster Co. opened Brookvale High School to serve Black students in 1959, five years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared public school segregation unconstitutional. The building replaced the old A. T. Wright High School. The Crusaders Political and Social Club, a civil rights organization, met here frequently. In 1969 the Brookvale Warriors won the last state baseball championship overseen by the Virginia Interscholastic Association, the league for Black schools. Lancaster Co. fully desegregated its schools in the fall of 1969, and the Brookvale building became an intermediate school. Brookvale’s last principal, Dr. Elton Smith, later became the first Black public school superintendent in VA. Sponsor: Save Brookvale History Locality: Lancaster County Proposed Location: 36 Primary School Circle
Dr. King at Mount Level Baptist Church The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Mount Level Baptist Church on 28 March 1962 during a “People to People” tour of communities in southern Virginia. King and other officials of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference made stops between Hopewell and Lynchburg, addressing crowds and going door-to-door to encourage voter registration and to recruit civil rights workers. The Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, King’s chief of staff and a former pastor of Mount Level, planned the visit to this church, where King spoke to a full house about the importance of voting as a pathway to equality and justice for all. King also made a stop in the Rocky Branch community of Dinwiddie County. Sponsor: Dinwiddie County Locality: Dinwiddie County Proposed Location: 14920 Courthouse Road
Contact: Ivy Tan Department of Historic Resources Marketing & Communications Manager ivy.tan@dhr.virginia.gov 804-482-6445
RICHMOND — Minutes before Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at February’s Super Bowl LXI game, several people gave an impromptu dance show of their own at a suburban home near Richmond, Virginia.
Onlookers were surprised when the dancers of various ages did not perform the Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle or the Wobble — popular line dances that have prevailed at many Black social gatherings for the past three decades or more.
Instead, the dancers, holding colorful hand fans, debuted a new line dance to “Boots on the Ground (Where Them Fans At),” a gritty Southern song with a catchy beat. The fans’ rhythmic “clack, clack, clack” after each break or dance sequence produced squeals of joy from everyone in the room.
Thanks to social media, the song and dance with a “wrist” have gone viral. Both have been played and performed nonstop since the song dropped in December 2024. Artist 803Fresh, aka Douglas Furtick, of Wagener, South Carolina, wrote and recorded the song. Jaterrious Trésean Little, aka TrèLittle of Newnan, Georgia, is credited with creating the dance steps for the tune.
While still trying to process the wide support he’s attracted for “Boots on the Ground,” 803Fresh believes that its popularity is based on the song’s relatability factor.
The artist told WIS 10 (Columbia, S.C.) reporter Billie Jean Shaw last month that he wrote and recorded the song after attending a “trail ride,” a country party with Black culture influences. Trail rides can feature a horseback procession, zydeco, Southern soul, or hip-hop fusion music, along with dancing and feasting, according to various online sources. Attendees can number in the thousands, with many returning to the South for the gatherings from cities across the country, noted a “Black Women on Reddit” post.
Kemel Patton, Richmond’s “Line Dance King,” teaches the “Boots on the Ground” dance at the Pine Camp Arts and Community Center. Photo credit: Bonnie Newman Davis, NABJ Black News & Views
During his first trail ride, 803Fresh noticed that many attendees toted hand fans, but the fans were absent on his second trail ride. His observation led to “Boots on the Ground” and its subtitle, “Where Them Fans At.”
After listening to the song with the lyrics, it will probably come as no surprise that 803Fresh grew up hearing a combination of Southern soul and country often filled with bass guitar, drums, blues, and gospel.
“Get up by your seat (your seat), let your body move (move)
Cowboys and cowgirls are feeling that groove (feeling that groove)
Sippin’ on moonshine, fire barrel rollin’ (rollin’)
I’ma get behind that thing, girl, and hold it, hold, it, hold it, hold it
In addition to performing in the church, he enjoyed listening to blues and soul singers such as James Brown, Marvin Sease, Tyrone Davis, and Z.Z. Hill.
“It’s a beautiful marriage,” he said of his sounds and those of soul singers who dominated the charts from the 1960s until the mid-1970s. “I do my two steps and I’m done. It’s good times, fans, a lot of boots wearing and engaging with the crowd.”
Birth of a trend
Not long after hearing the song for the first time, Trè Little, 22, took the tune to another level, going beyond 803Fresh’s two steps to create a line dance for the song.
Trè Little created the “Boots on the Ground” line dance.
But the dance actually came by accident when Little, a dancer all his life, tripped over his feet on one of the turns, he said during a recent telephone interview.
“After I tripped over my feet, it was like that part had to go with the song,” Little recalled. “So I had to add that front step and turn into it. And that was really then I just started, like, just going with the flow. Everything just came together like a puzzle, basically.”
After Little recorded himself dancing to the song and posting it to social media, it generated 100,000 views overnight, he said. “Oh, my goodness! Yes! And then it just blew up from there.”
Once Little posted online tutorials demonstrating the dance, others in the line dance community joined in. He has since met 803Fresh and they plan to collaborate on more music and dance steps, he said.
“We talk here and there and whenever he has a band in Atlanta or somewhere in this area he calls and we get together,” Little said.
Kemel Patton, Richmond’s “Line Dance King,” with two of his “Boots on the Ground” students at the Pine Camp Arts and Community Center. Photo credit: Bonnie Newman Davis, NABJ Black News & Views
One community’s love affair with ‘Boots on the Ground’
Meanwhile, back in Richmond, a city that produced musical legends such as Jerome Brailey, D’Angelo, Stu Gardner, Mable Scott, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and Lonnie Liston Smith, fans continue to boogie to “Boots on the Ground.”
Options to feed their dance hunger appear unlimited because community centers, churches, restaurants, and other facilities routinely host line-dance classes or events throughout the city.
On a recent sunny Saturday, Christopher Woody, who once performed with the UniverSoul Circus, led his first line-dance event at the Satellite Club on Richmond’s Southside. The 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. event, organized just two weeks in advance, drew nearly 100 people. Many of the partiers who learned about the gathering on social media were Black women, dressed in Western wear and armed with colorful folding hand fans. (Fans range in cost, from $2.99 on Temu to $8.99 and up on Amazon.)
Woody, 40, a mental health technician, has been line dancing for 10 years. He decided to teach the dance at the suggestion of a friend.
Christopher Woody with a line dance ethusiast. Photo credit: Bonnie Newman Davis, NABJ Black News & Views
Teaching is different because everything’s at a faster pace when dancing, he said. “So, when you’re teaching, you have to slow it all the way down. Everything is step by step.”
Woody believes that part of the reason the line dance went viral so quickly is the current U.S. political stage, where uncertainty reigns.
“I think in a time like this, people want to get together and have, like, you know how the old cookout used to be?” he said. When you had people that got together to simply enjoy themselves, set aside their concerns for a while.”
Kemel Patton, affectionately known as the “Line Dance King” in Richmond, agrees. Patton, 63, a line dance instructor for three decades, has relied on dance to help minimize his battle with multiple sclerosis, a chronic, autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system.
Through the years, Patton has seen as many as 350 people show up for his classes at various venues—from vacant food courts at dying malls to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ marbled halls, as well as the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Given his longevity in the line dance community, Patton sees the “Boots on the Ground” phenomenon as more than a “great hip-hop vibe with a country feel.”
Rather it also is “a song and dance that let’s folks know that our culture goes beyond just one type of music,” he said, adding, “that the root of all music started with us.”
BND Institute of Media & Culture 