Press Release

Contact: Althea Brooks
althea@virginia.edu
www.virginiafoundation.org
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA
22903-4629
Phone:(434)243-5520
                                    Fax: (434)296-4714
For Immediate Release

Announcement of Virginia’s New Black History Publication Release:
Don’t Grieve After Me: The Black Experience in Virginia, 1619-2005

                                                                 
A new history publication reveals Virginia’s rich black heritage.  Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) is pleased to announce the release of the book, Don’t Grieve after Me: The Black Experience in Virginia, 1619-2005. Co-published with Hampton University (HU), this work contributes to the understanding of the African-American experience in Virginia over nearly 400 years.
 
Don’t Grieve After Me was originally created as an exhibition in the 1980’s by Hampton University in collaboration with the VFH.  An exhibition catalog was produced by VFH and HU, in 1986 and then in 2001, a smaller companion booklet was created in conjunction with the updated traveling exhibition, Don’t Grieve After Me: The Black Experience in Virginia, 1619-2001.  The current publication was made possible by a generous grant from Jamestown 2007.  In addition to this new publication, the traveling exhibition is available to non-profit and educational institutions in Virginia.

The current publication of Don’t Grieve After Me includes four narratives by scholars Tommy Bogger, Director of Archives at Norfolk State University; Sarah Hughes, Associate Professor of History at Hampton University (retired); Michael Hucles, Associate Professor of History at Old Dominion University; and Philip Morgan, Professor of History at Princeton University. The publication was edited by Christina S. Draper, Program Director for the African American Heritage program at the VFH.

Each narrative explores a number of themes in African-American history including migration patterns and the establishment of black Virginian culture; family, community, and religious life; the contributions of blacks to Virginia society through skilled and professional work; and their social and educational achievements and struggles. This work documents some of the state’s untold stories, begins to fill in historical gaps, and corrects past omissions and misrepresentations.  State Senator Benjamin Lambert, III, who represents the ninth district in the Richmond, Virginia area said, “The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) and Hampton University are to be commended for this wonderful work.”
 
Copies of the book Don’t Grieve After Me are available from the VFH and the Hampton University Museum at a cost of $22.95.  To inquire about the African American Heritage Program, the Don’t Grieve After Me traveling exhibition or the book, visit www.aaheritageva.org.  Contact the African American Heritage program at aahv@virginia.edu or call (434) 243-5528 for more information.
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