Reclaiming the Landscapes of Black History in Shockoe Bottom 1695 > 1865 > 2015

Author(s): Ana F Edwards

Year: 2016

Summary

The Shockoe Bottom historic district in Richmond, Virginia holds an invisible 320-year old story of Black life in Virginia that coincided with and contributed to Richmond's origins and development - from 250+ years as a slave society to the end of slavery through Jim Crow and the civil rights era. The community-based struggle to reclaim the Black history of Shockoe Bottom sought first to assert the right to learn more about their history in Richmond but was later forced to focus on protecting the land from destruction by development and continued devaluation of the Black history that was acknowledged to exist there. This paper will present Shockoe Bottom as a case study for community efforts to prioritize the right of marginalized peoples to reclaim lost histories and commemorate them through physical and scholarly research accompanying public engagement and memorialization. 

Cite this Record

Reclaiming the Landscapes of Black History in Shockoe Bottom 1695 > 1865 > 2015. Ana F Edwards. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434397)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 971