Celebrating Black History Month in Virginia

According to the “Virginia is for Lovers” website, Virginia is home to the longest continuous experience of Black life and culture in the United States, spanning more than four centuries — beginning before the first English settlement at Jamestown, through the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Emancipation, and the Civil Rights eras.  You can travel our beautiful state in all directions, with an extra day in February this leap year to do it!

Enslaved people lived and worked at Ben Lomond from the colonial era to the Civil War. In addition to the main building, many of its original outbuildings survive and have been restored and open to the public. The original slave quarters, constructed of stone, a rare example in Northern Virginia. An exhibit on the enslaved experience at Ben Lomond can be seen in the slave quarters and included in the site tour.

Jamestown Settlement will exhibit its 2024 Black Artist Showcase on February 1 through 29.  Originally limited to just one weekend, Black Artist Showcase is on extended view during Black History Month in February, connecting the past and present through vivid intersections of contemporary art and 17th-century history.  Guided by the theme – “the beauty of our lives” – 22 Virginia-based artists present more than 30 original interpretations and reflections of family, faith, music, and social justice.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts celebrates Black artists and the stories they tell.  The acclaimed exhibition Dawoud Bey: Elegy, on view through Feb. 25, 2024, invites visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of embedded histories on our present-day experiences. Visitors can discover the breadth and depth of VMFA’s growing collection of works by African American artists on display in the permanent collection galleries, free of charge.

Built in 1905, the St. Luke and Odd Fellows Hall in Blacksburg is the only building remaining from New Town, a historic African-American community that thrived until the late 1960s. As the only place African Americans were allowed to congregate outside of local churches, St. Luke and Odd Fellows Hall was the centerpiece of social gatherings.  Now a museum, the lodge highlights the significant contributions of African Americans to the town of Blacksburg through an exhibit titled “From Civil War to Civil Rights”.  The museum is free and open to the public by appointment.

There are so many ways to celebrate Black History Month in February, with Virginia offering unique opportunities to visit historic sites and learn more about significant accomplishments of distinguished Black Americans.  Be sure to see the resources on Virginia.org for Black History Attractions to discover more destinations.