Contact: Sheryl HayesSheryl@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA
22903-4629
Phone:(434)924-3296
Fax: (434)296-4714
For Immediate Release
February 1, 2006
Contact: Sheryl Hayes
Sheryl@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive
Charlottesville, VA
22903-4629
Phone:(434)924-3296
Fax: (434)296-4714
For Immediate Release
February 1, 2006
The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) has awarded 25 grants totaling $123,150 to assist Virginia organizations in their efforts to research and interpret Virginia’s rich history, to explore issues of importance to Virginians, and to showcase Virginia’s folklife and cultural heritage.
Recipients of the grants include museums, colleges and universities, African American heritage organizations, civic groups, libraries, and historic sites. The funds will be used to support documentary projects, exhibits, oral history research and collections, database creation, film festivals, CD music development and production, and conferences. Grant-supported activities will take place across Virginia cities and counties, from Floyd to Fairfax, from South Boston to Harrisonburg.
Funds for this program have been provided by private donors, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and by the National Endowment for the Humanities through its “We The People” initiative.
Grants were awarded to the following organizations and projects:
Accokeek Foundation Accokeek, VA
Dinner Party With History
$1,200 to support planning to design an educational complement (lesson plans and other
classroom materials) to a new series of staged conversations on American history being
developed for PBS.
Appalachian State University Boone, NC
Rufus Kasey Video
$4,500 to support the creation of a half-hour video on Rufus Kasey, an African American
banjo player from Bedford County, and on the tradition his music embodies.
Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship Purcellville, VA
Between the Hills
$1,250 to support planning for a long-term project that will interpret the finding of an
archaeological and historical research project that has uncovered an intact 19th century
historic landscape within the boundaries of the largest publicly accessible natural area in
Loudoun County, the state's fastest-growing locality.
Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre Ferrum, VA
Summer Institute Pilot Program
$1,000 to support development of a series of public discussion programs to complement the
five theatrical productions in the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre's summer 2006 season.
Firehouse Theatre Project Richmond, VA
Defining Moments: An Exploration of Birth
$2,000 to support the contributions of the humanities and humanities scholars to an eleven-
day conference/lecture exploring the spiritual, emotional, and social impact of pregnancy and
birth, focusing in particular on how these are portrayed in popular culture.
Friends of the Library, Floyd County Floyd, VA
Celebrate the Past; Look to the Future
$4,000 to support a six-part book discussion series exploring the ways so-called "ordinary"
people respond to historical events.
George Mason University Fairfax, VA
Probing Virginia's Past: Online Probate Record Database, 1740-1810
$9,950 to support creation of an online resource building on a database of probate records
from Maryland and Virginia. This resource will be used by teachers, genealogists, and other
researchers, and will combine the records themselves with lesson plans and other tools to
enhance their usefulness.
Hampton University Hampton, VA
Home and Hearth: Family, Traditions, and Progress in African American Life
$9,850 to support an exhibit, lectures, and public workshops exploring the diversity of
African American culture and community life.
Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Harrisonburg, VA
Court Days Festival
$4,000 to support research leading to a series of first-person portrayals and dramatic re-
enactments from local history to be presented as part of the annual Court Days Festival in
Harrisonburg in 2006.
Halifax County Historical Society South Boston, VA
Architectural History of Halifax County
$2,500 to assist in the publication of a book on the architectural history of Halifax County.
Shenandoah University.
JazzReach Performing Arts and Education Association Brooklyn, NY
Gone to Texas: The Lives of Forrest Carter
$8,000 to support development of a documentary film on the life of Asa Carter, a former Ku
Klux Klansman and speechwriter for George Wallace who reinvented himself as a Cherokee
named Forrest Carter and wrote the best-selling "autobiography," The Education of Little
Tree. The film will explore issues of ethnic identity and imposture.
Legacy Museum of African American History Lynchburg, VA
Someday: The Fall of Jim Crow in Central Virginia, 1954-1979
$10,000 to support development of the second phase of a two-part exhibit on the history of
Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Era in Central Virginia, focusing on the period of from 1954-
1979.
National D-Day Memorial Foundation Bedford, VA
The 6888th Battalion
$1,350 to support a public lecture-discussion program on the role of African American
women in the armed services during World War II.
The Newsome House Museum & Cultural Center Foundation, Inc. Newport News, VA
Ride with Rosa Parks
$2,500 to support a commemorative event on the 50th anniversary of Rosa Parks' refusal to
give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama - one of the defining moments in the Civil
Rights Movement.
Newport News Public Library System Newport News, VA
The Power of a Book
$9,200 to support a ten-part series of book and film discussion programs designed to focus
attention on the power of reading to affect individual readers, communities, and society as a
whole.
Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA
The War on Terror: Rights and Responsibilities
$1,650 to support a panel discussion exploring issues related to the detention of suspected
terrorists and American citizens who have been defined as "enemy combatants" by the U.S.
government.
The Prism Coffeehouse, Inc. Charlottesville, VA
40th Anniversary Blues
$2,500 to support the contributions of the humanities to a performance-lecture series on The
Blues.
Radford University Radford, VA
Reflecting Black Teachers: Shaping the Future
$1,500 to support two lectures on African American education, the first of two programs
created as the result of a developing partnership between Radford University and the
Christiansburg Institute.
Radford University Radford, VA
Women of Change, Women of Courage: Appalachian Activists
$10,000 to support an oral history project resulting in the development of a multi-media
presentation on women activists in the Central Appalachian region.
Rosenwald Reunion Committee Burgess, VA
Rosenwald Schools in the Northern Neck
$1,400 to support a public event centered around the reunion of former students and teachers
from the Rosenwald High School in Northumberland County, including a lecture focusing on
the history of Rosenwald Schools in the Northern Neck region and Virginia as a whole.
Shenandoah University Winchester, VA
Wit, Will and Walls
$11,850 to support pre-production costs for a documentary film based on an autobiographical
account of Massive Resistance to school desegregation in Warren County, Virginia.
Steamboat Era Museum Irvington, VA
The Bay at War
$10,000 to support development of an interpretive exhibit and related programs on the
Chesapeake Bay and the Civil War.
Virginia Historical Society Richmond, VA
African American Manuscripts Access Project
$9,350 to support archival work leading to the updating of an online publication designed to
increase public awareness of and access to African American manuscripts and collections at
the Virginia Historical Society.
Shenandoah University Winchester, VA
Patsy Cline Symposium - Planning
$1,000 to support planning for a major academic and public symposium on the life and
influence of singer Patsy Cline, a native of Winchester and the Shenandoah Valley.
World Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads Virginia Beach, VA
Great Decisions 2006
$2,600 to support an eight-part lecture-discussion series on current topics in the field of
international relations.
The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, based in Charlottesville, is a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the humanities, and to using the humanities to address issues of broad public concern.
In all of its programs, the Foundations works to make scholarship accessible; to promote understanding and discussion of enduring and contemporary issues; and to broaden the range of educational opportunities available to all Virginians.
For further information about Grants or other VFH programs, contact Sheryl Hayes at 434-924-3286 or Sheryl@virginia.edu.
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