African American History of Richmond

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The second stop on the Henry Brown path to freedom tour brings us to the waterfront in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond’s ports are steeped with African American history, as many enslaved African Americans entered the city aboard ships while free and enslaved persons worked on the river or canals, as well as the neighboring iron works and tobacco houses. The docks were initial arrival points for slaves before they were held in nearby slave pens and jails and sold at nearby auction houses. One of the most recent monumental spaces built in Richmond, the Box Brown Plaza commemorates the efforts of Henry Brown to achieve freedom. Brown became one of the most famous slaves in Richmond’s history after he escaped his master in Virginia, boxed himself inside a crate, and paid to have the crate shipped from Virginia to Philadelphia while he was inside. The Plaza includes a memorial for Brown: a metal duplicate of the box in which he was shipped stands as a testament to the bravery it took to pursue freedom.

2. Reconciliation Statue

The Atlantic slave trade followed a triangular pattern with ships transporting luxury items from Europe to Africa for sale to African merchants who sold captured slaves to the European traders. These same ships transported slaves to the Americas where they were sold to planters. The ships then loaded their cargo holds with goods from the Americas that were sold to traders in Europe. In 2007, three Reconciliation Statues were erected in Richmond, Liverpool (UK) and the West-African Republic of Benin. Together, these three statues recall the horrors of the slave trade.

3. Lumpkin's Jail Site

Also known as "The Devil's Half Acre," Lumpkin's Jail was at the same time a slave holding facility, an auction house, and the home of the Lumpkin family. Before the Civil War, Richmond was the most important slave-trading hub outside of New Orleans, and Richmonders would bring their slaves to this place in order to have them broken, tortured, or auctioned. Prior to ownership of Robert Lumpkin, Lewis A. Collier, a slave dealer, improved the intricate slave site that he used for his slave-trading business. In total, the slave jail operated from the 1830s to 1865 marking the end of the Civil War. Robert Lumpkin held many slaves in this jailhouse and even charged dealers to hold their slaves at this site. Eventually, Robert Lumpkin died and left his property to his “lover”, Mary Lumpkin, an enslaved woman. The remaining of the property can now be seen on the Richmond Slave Trail.

4. First African Baptist Church; Randolph Minor Hall

Richmond's First African Baptist Church traces its roots back to 1780 when enslaved people attended services with their owners. In 1841, white members of the First Baptist Church sold the original church building to its approximately 1,000 African members, both free and enslaved, for $65,000. The original building was replaced in 1876 with a building that is now the Randolph Minor Hall at Virginia Commonwealth University. The current First African Baptist Church is located at 2700 Hanes Ave in northern Richmond.

5. Virginia Civil Rights Memorial

Located in the shadow of the former Confederate Capitol, the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial commemorated the long movement that led to the desegregation of Virginia's schools. The memorial was opened in July 2008. It features eighteen statues of leaders in the civil rights movement, including high school student Barbara Johns. At the age of 16, Barbara Johns lead a high school walkout to protest the inequality of segregated schools.

6. Civil Rights Sit-In at the Richmond Room, February 22, 1960 (The "Richmond 34")

On February 22, 1960, 34 African American students from Virginia Union University were arrested after protesting racial discrimination at Thalhimers Department Store in Richmond. Thalhimers operated a chain of high-end department stores and the Richmond location operated a restaurant that refused to serve African Americans, even after many of the other lunch counters in department stores ended their policy of segregation. The 34 students were then known, and still are, as the "Richmond 34."

7. Fraternal Order of Eagles Building (Marshall Street Apartments)

The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) building was designed by Richmond architects Asbury and Whitehurst and constructed in 1914 for the fraternal organization's local headquarters. The Neoclassical Revival style brick building was three stories tall on a raised basement. The main entrance on Marshall St. featured a recessed doorway with a mosaic of the FOE logo on the vestibule floor. The FOE sold the clubhouse in the late 1980s, and it became office space. The building became a listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Currently home to Marshall Street Apartments, the building was vacant before it was renovated into eleven apartments and a commercial space in 2005.

8. Maggie L. Walker establishes St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, 1903.

The St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia was established in 1903 by Maggie L. Walker, an African-American civil rights activist and educator. Walker was the first woman to establish and head any financial institution at the time. She asked of her community: “Let us put our money together; let us use our money; let us put our money out at usury among ourselves, and reap the benefit ourselves.”1 Later part of the Consolidated Bank and Trust, the bank served as the oldest Black-owned and operated savings institution until 2005 when it was absorbed by Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. based in Huntington, WV. The building still stands on 329 N 1st St. in Richmond, the final location of the bank, and operates as Premier Bank: Consolidated Division.

9. The Hippodrome Theater

Otherwise known as the "Hipp," this theater was the heart of the Second Street entertainment district known as "the Deuce." The Hippodrome theater was one of Richmond's premier theaters following its 1914 opening and evolved from a vaudeville theater to a movie theater in its early decades. It was also part of the Jackson Ward district in Richmond that earned the nickname "The Harlem of the South." The theater served African American patrons and provided a dignified space for Black performers in the era of segregation. Since its establishment, the "Hipp" has survived adversity including a 1945 fire and declining business that might have spelled the end of the historic building. Thanks to local community members and preservationists, the Hippodrome operates as a restaurant and a venue for live performances and private events.

10. Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site

Maggie L. Walker (Draper) was a civil rights movement advocate, educator, banker and business owner. She was a president at St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, editor at St. Luke Herald, and a 3rd grade teacher. She devoted her life to civil rights advancement, educational opportunities for Jim Crow-era African American women, and economic empowerment. She was born on July 15th, 1864 and passed away in 1979 from diabetes. Her home is now a National Historic Site.

11. Maggie L. Walker Home

The Maggie L. Walker Home is a National Historic Landmark that features a visitor’s center and exhibits within Mrs. Walker’s home. The home includes many of its original furnishings as well as exhibits that share the history of Maggie Walker's life as a renowned educator, civil rights activist, and entrepreneur. It is located inside the Jackson Ward District of Richmond, a neighborhood that is sometimes referred to as "the birthplace of Black capitalism." Walker's home was one of the hubs of the business community. She chartered a bank, established a newspaper, and ran a successful store in Richmond.

12. Historic Jackson Ward District

Known as the “Harlem of the South,” Jackson Ward was home to many influential African-American families after the American Civil War. The neighborhood spans forty city blocks and contains a rich history that is celebrated by the annual Second Street Festival in October. There are also periodic walking tours hosted by the local Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia on Clay Street. In 1978, the neighborhood was declared a National Historic Landmark District.

13. The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia

Carroll Anderson, Sr. founded the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia in 1981. After many years in a historic home, the museum is now located in a former armory in the Jackson Ward area. The museum has grown in the last four decades and offers exhibits and artifacts from the city and region's African American history along with programs and an archive. The museum hosts rotating events and exhibitions in the Jackson Ward area of Richmond. Jackson Ward was once considered the center of "Black capitalism" and is the location for other historical sites of significance.

14. St. Luke Building (St. Luke Legacy Center)

Richmond's St. Luke Building was constructed between 1902 and 1903 and then enlarged in the late 1910s. Today, it is the oldest office building in Richmond connected to the city's Black community. The office building was the site of Maggie L. Walker's private office, where she oversaw the Independent Order of St. Luke until she died in 1934. The hall was used for group meetings of organizations and the building was the original location of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in 1903. The bank moved to a new building in 1911 due to a new law prohibiting banks and social clubs in the same building. The Stallings family purchased the building in 1971. In 1982, the St. Luke Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The long-vacant building was renovated into a dozen apartments from 2018 to 2020 by the Stallings family, with the main offices of the St. Luke Legacy Center, a nonprofit community center, occupying the ground-floor commercial space.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

African American History of Richmond

Created by Clio Admin on April 16th 2017, 12:20:44 pm.

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This short tour includes sites related to the historical experiences and contributions of African Americans in downtown Richmond. The tour begins with historical sites and monuments related to the history of slavery and civil rights. The tour also includes museums, important black institutions such as businesses and churches, and landmarks related to the lives of influential Richmond residents. The tour only includes sites within a few miles of each other. Please use Clio to discover other Richmond landmarks such as the statue of Arthur Ashe.

Entries on This Tour

African American History of Richmond

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