Press Release

Contact:  Christina S. Draper
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA  22903
Email: cdraper@virginia.edu

www.AAHeritageVA.org
www.virginiafoundation.org
For Immediate Release
February 22, 2007

VFH Celebrates Black History Month with launch of new resource dedicated to remembering, interpreting, and celebrating Virginia’s Black history

Are you interested in learning about African-American historical sites in your city or county?  The new African American Heritage of Virginia (AAHV) database website is a great place to learn more. The database website, which includes over 400 heritage sites representing most regions of Virginia, is designed to heighten the public awareness of Virginia’s African American history and culture.  

Do you know of an African American historical site in your area?  You can nominate it for inclusion on the database website by contacting  the AAHV program by phone: 434-243-5528 or by e-mail:  aahv@virginia.edu to request a nomination brochure.

The database is a fully searchable inventory of landmarks which are involved in the interpretation of African American history and culture throughout the Commonwealth. An interactive map of Virginia as well as a search feature by historical era and site type allows a visitor to learn more about the history and culture of African Americans in Virginia. Sites recognized as National Historic Landmarks and those sites honored on the National Register of Historic Places, The Virginia State Register, and The Historic Highway Marker Program are included in the database.

Throughout its thirty-year history, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) has placed a high priority on exploring African American history and culture in Virginia. The African American Heritage of Virginia program was designed in partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation to promote economic development through heritage tourism and educational programming.

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 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.   

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