Maggie L. Walker

The Penny Executive:  The Maggie Walker Story at The Science Museum of Virginia
Celebrate Black History Month and experience this fascinating and compelling glimpse into the life of Maggie Walker. Learn more about this groundbreaking African-American woman who founded a newspaper, chartered a bank and worked tirelessly for increased educational opportunities for women and children.
Performed on select dates Thursday, February 6-Friday, March 7, 2014; 1 pm and select Sundays.

Celebrate Black History Month at C-MoR
The Children’s Museum of Virginia celebrates Black History Month with special performances to celebrate African American culture and history on Weekends in February at CMoR Chesterfield and CMoR Central.

African-American Schools During The Segregated Era at the Chesterfield County Museum.

Opening on Saturday February 1, and running through Saturday May 31, this exhibit will feature the story of segregated schoolhouses throughout Chesterfield built to accommodate children of African-American descent. The exhibit will include six Chesterfield schools built with the support of the Rosenwald Fund–the collaboration between Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald that led to the building of 5,000 schoolhouses in 15 Southern states.
The exhibit will present video recordings of former students as well as photos and artifacts loaned by local families, which include former students and school staff.

The Chesterfield County Museum
6813 Mimms Loop
Open Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Suggested admission is $2.00.
For information, call 768-7311.

Black History Segway Tour  (discount available)
Discover the rich history of Richmond’s African-American population.  Glide through the old slave trading district, past sites from emancipation, the rise of the “Birthplace of Black Capitalism in America”, Virginia’s role in Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Movement and the first black Governor in the USA.  Stops include the Virginia State Capitol, the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, the Maggie Walker House, and Brown’s Island.

Length of Tour: 2-hours and approximately 8 miles.
Age: 14 years and 100lb to ride segway.

UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS AT MAYMONT 
Maymont Honors Black History Month
Saturdays, February 1-22, 12:30-1:30pm, Maymont Mansion
Experience Maymont Mansion from the perspective of those who knew it as a workplace. Nearly everyone employed by the Dooleys as butlers, maids, cooks and laundresses from 1893-1925 were African American. Learn how they met daily challenges maintaining the millionaire’s home and lifestyle, as well as the challenges of life beyond the gates of the estate in the turbulent times of the Jim Crow South. See the restored spaces where they lived and worked, and learn about the demanding standards of an elite home in an era of rapidly changing household technology. $6 per person/$4 members. Registration recommended; for information, call 804-358-7166, ext. 329.

For adults

African American Read In at the VMFA

February 20, 2014   5  – 6 pm
Meet at theVisitor Services Desk.
As part of  the 24th annual African American Read-In, a national event, VMFA staff and members of the community share African American literature through readings, poetry, and speeches related to Signs of Protest and works in the permanent collection.
Free, no registration.

Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute with Film
Fri February 21, 2014   in the Leslie Cheek Theatre
6 pm: Virginia Union Concert Choir 6:30 – 10 pm: King: A Filmed Record . . . Montgomery to Memphis
King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis (1970, 181 minutes, B&W) Spanning 13 years — from 1955 to 1968, this monumental documentary tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s rise from regional activist to world-respected leader of the Civil Rights movement. Created from archival footage, the film features heartfelt tributes by some of the greatest stars of the era: Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Clarence Williams III, and Joanne Woodward. Rarely seen since 1970, the Academy Award-winning film has been restored by the Library of Congress, mastered in HD from the 35mm preservation negative.
$8 (VMFA members $5)

Historic sites

Arthur Ashe statue on Monument Ave. Photo via Flickr

Richmond Slave Trail
Richmond Slave Trail is a walking trail that chronicles the history of the trade of enslaved Africans from Africa to Virginia until 1775, and away from Virginia, especially Richmond, to other locations in the Americas until 1865.

Virginia E. Randolph Museum
2200 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060
(804) 261-5029
This museum, the only one of its kind in the South, honors the memory of Miss Randolph, who for 57 years worked as an educator in Henrico County, molding and shaping the lives of girls and boys so they would become worthwhile citizens.

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site
Winter hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., November 1 through February 28.
600 North 2nd Street in Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Visitor Information (804)771-2017

Arthur Ashe Jr. Statue
Bojangles Statue

It’s here!

22, 2013.  Just over three years after our first story about Richmond history for kids, Richmond Rocks, was released, we can’t be more excited to add to the libraries of Richmond families!

You’ll likely recognize some of the characters in this collection of Richmond ghost stories for children ten and under from

Recognize this guy? He makes an appearance in the Spooky Sequel.

“haunts” like Hollywood Cemetery and the Poe Museum, to name just two (we can’t give it all away!) Inspiration for this book came from Richmond children who, upon hearing us read the story at their schools, offered up ideas for a sequel. Ghost stories topped the list everywhere we went, from Chesterfield the the west end.

The Richmondmom.com Publishing team: myself, Illustrator Knox Hubard, Photographers Jamie Hayes and Mary Fisk-Taylor of Hayes and Fisk, the Art of Photography collaborated collective creative efforts over the course of the last year to bring the sequel to fruition and published locally through Palari Publishing. This hardcover book is priced at $14.95.

Our three little kiddos are back, and ready for some chills.

We’re often asked to read at local schools and we’re happy to donate up to 20% back to schools and non-profits.

For your signed copy, please visit the following Richmond retail locations or email us at kate@richmondmom.com for direct shipping (we will ship free) and book signing information.

–By Invitation Only in Short Pump

–The Daily Grind in Short Pump

–World of Mirth in Carytown

Check back for additional spots to locate the book.

Our three little kiddos are back, and ready for some chills.

world-famous author and blogger (well, she will be!) sat down with the idea of creating a super-cool book about Richmond history for little kids. I had an epiphany when my son once asked me while walking together on Brown’s Island, mom, what are those markings on that footbridge?

Three years later and a few thousand sold books under our belts, we’re thrilled to publish Richmond Rocks Spooky Sequel. I’ve always been a ghost-story junkie so it was tons of fun researching all the cool (and plentiful!) ghastly Richmond tales, only a few of which are suitable for kiddos.

Recognize this guy? He makes an appearance in the Spooky Sequel.

We’ll have retail information soon as well as a final arrival date for our books, another joint venture with Richmond’s Palari Publishing, and we’re thrilled that this is a 100% local project.

I’m amazed at my talented teammates.

Our photographers of Hayes and Fisk the Art of Photography have captured Richmond’s spooky spots and our illustrator and local cool-guy Knox Hubard has painstakingly brought our three little adventurers back for another trip with their mama.

For more information on signings, at which we donate 20% to schools, organizations and non-profits, please contact Kate Hall.

And, because we have to ask, please like Richmond Rocks if you’d be so kind on Facebook.

Photos courtesy www.henricus.org

When driving along 95 South and coming up Route 1 in Chester do you get the sense that you are just a few miles from an English settlement?   I’m guessing not, but you guessed wrong.

On May 7th, the groundbreaking for the reproduction of the 17th century 1611 church was an amazing lesson in history, appreciation for two powerhouse counties Chesterfield and Henrico as well as a tribute to the Honorary Henricus Historical Park architect Thomas K. McLaughlin Jr.    

His efforts to see that this project was designed ensuring that it was as historically accurate as possible while complying with the American Disabilities Act was no easy feat.  Fortunately his passing earlier this year only pushed efforts to see his vision completed.

Several speakers connected to the project educated us on the efforts to make such a church possible, such as Charles Lewis Grant, the Executive Director and John Daniel Pagano, the Historical Interpretation Supervisor.    The fact that we have the site of the second permanent English settlement in the new world this close,  is and should be celebrated as the source of education that it has become for over 250 children per day.

I’m not one to go to historical places on purpose (yes a genetic defect indeed) but this place wasn’t some dusty museum full of yawn-inducing replicas, but the real thing.  Real people were wearing the super fashion-conscious attire of their time and doing activities that are pretty uncommon these days, such as women making clothing.  

Photos courtesy www.henricus.org

I especially liked the burning of tobacco and fuses.  Much of the discussion of the groundbreaking was the pronunciation of Henricus which I found a little funny.  It’s a derivative of Henry so it stands to reason that it would be Henrycus and Henryco, sub the “I” but how will I ever stop calling it Hen-RI-co???  It shan’t happen.

The most fascinating thing about Henricus Park is the amount of activities that go on there regularly.   Hands-on visual proof that early settlers didn’t have iphones actually seems to get the point across because over 20,000 students participate in an educational program each year.  I find it amazing that such a place exists in our back yard.   An actual living history museum complete with structures, costumes, reenactments and now it will be complete with the building that represented both religion and government 400 years ago.  

Yes people, there wasn’t a separation of church and state, but a happy scary union.  I learned yesterday that skipping church could get your meal privileges revoked for an entire week: his might help you get those kids dressed and out the door quicker on Sundays.

You should take a look at upcoming events at Henricus Park and keep an eye on the amazing Henricus 1611 church to be finished by the fall and open for activities such as weddings and community events.

This is a great place for a family outing with ongoing camps throughout the summer and activities each month. Who says history can’t be fun?

• Driving directions to Henricus Historical Park
• Hours and Admission Prices
• James River Boat Tours
• Volunteer Opportunities

Check out Kate Hall's books, Richmond Rocks, for more great reasons to love Richmond.

Richmond Rocks is the first book release by Richmondmom.com Publishing!

Available now, in it’s second printing and available in paperback, this full-color book is a fun to Richmond’s history and sights for little ones ages 4-8, but we think adults will get a kick out of reading it aloud, too!

Another cool thing? Everything about Richmond Rocks is local:

•Authors Kate Hall, with editing by Nicole Unice
•Illustrations by Knox Hubard
•Photography by Hayes and Fisk, the Art of Photography
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BOOK SIGNINGS!  We give 20% back to schools/non-profits.  Contact Kate@richmondmom.com to schedule an event.

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Order your copy online  Or pick up a copy at one these Richmond, VA locations:

•Fountain BookStore, 1312 E Cary St., Richmond, VA 23219, (804) 788-1594

•By Invitation Only in the Shoppes at Westgate in Short Pump

•The Daily Grind Coffee Shop in Short Pump

•Blooms at the Jefferson Hotel in historic downtown Richmond

•Hayes and Fisk, the Art of Photography, 1003 N Parham Rd, Henrico, VA 23229

•Real Life Studios, 825 Grove Rd # 13, Midlothian, VA 23114-2647

•Local Talent Books & Music Online

•Urban Farmhouse Market & Cafe, 1217 East Cary Street, Richmond VA 23219

•The American Civil War Center, 500 Tredegar Street, Richmond, VA 23219

•Very Richmond Gallery & Gifts, 1051 E. Cary Street, Suite 104, Richmond, VA

•Richmond Visitors Center at the Convention Center, 405 N. Third Street, Richmond, VA

•Saxon Shoes, 11800 West Broad Street # 2750, Short Pump Town Center, Richmond, VA 23233

•Elephants & Giraffes, Westbury Pharmacy Shopping Center, 8901 A-1 Three Chopt Rd, Richmond VA

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Many thanks to our Richmond, VA sponsors who helped make this book possible!