View More Events

Events for February, 2010

Much in Demand: 200 Years of Central Virginia African American Military Service

Saturday June 20, 2009 - Saturday May 1, 2010
Legacy Museum
403 Monroe Street map it
Lynchburg, VA 24505

This exhibit traces the ways the status of African Americans in the larger society shaped their experiences in the military. Dianne Swann-Wright, director and founding curator of the Frederick Douglas - Isaac Myers Maritime Park in Baltimore, is guest curator.

The exhibit explores the following themes:

• Central Virginia's African Americans, like people of African descent living elsewhere, fought in military conflicts dating back to the American Revolution.
  
• African Americans fought racial discrimination in the military while fighting for the principles of liberty and democracy.
  
• Military service changed the lives of African Americans living in Central Virginia in significant ways.
  
• Military service expanded Central Virginia's African American military men and women's social and economic horizons.
  
• Central Virginia's African American men and women had successful experiences in the military, bringing honor to themselves, their families, and communities.

More Information...

"The Portent: John Brown's Raid in American Memory"

Saturday October 10, 2009 - Sunday April 11, 2010
Virginia Historical Society
428 North Boulevard map it
Richmond, VA 23220

This exhibition is the first-ever critical analysis by a southern institution of an episode that, on the eve of the Civil War, broke open sectionalist fissures. Brown demanded that his contemporaries take a moral stance on slavery, and to this day a mention of his attack spurs debate about issues of justice, terrorism, liberation, and vigilantism. The story of Brown’s early life, his fervent religious beliefs, his turn to violence as an abolitionist in Kansas, and his Virginia raid and its aftermath will be told in the exhibition, part of the national acknowledgement of the 150th anniversary of John Brown's raid on the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Contemporary reactions to the raid and to the trial and execution of John Brown will be discussed and visitors will see a display of objects and books related to the raid. See www.vahistorical.org for gallery hours and admission fees.

Come In and Have a Seat: Vernacular Chairs of the Shenandoah Valley

Friday December 18, 2009 - Sunday June 20, 2010
Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
901 Amherst Street map it
Winchester, VA 22601

A new exhibit, curated by Jeffrey S. Evans, opens at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley as the first ever exhibit to focus exclusively on vernacular chairs made in the Valley from the 18th to the 20th century, shedding light on not only their contribution to American furniture-making, but also fostering appreciation for the rich cultural heritage of the Valley. For museum hours and more, see www.shenandoahmuseum.org, or call either 540-662-1473 or toll free, 888-556-5799.

Serpents of Fire and the Winged Cherubim: Biblical Images of the Supernatural

Tuesday February 23, 2010
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive map it
Charlottesville, VA 22903

VFH Fellow Kristin Swenson is the author of Bible Babel: Making Sense of the Most Talked About Book of All Time and associate professor of Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her talk will be based on her most recent work investigating the biblical language and imagery of supernatural beings such as angels, Satan, and the seraphim in the Bible.