Virginia Vignettes

The American Colonization Society (ACS) was established in 1816 to promote the voluntary return of African Americans – emancipated slaves as well as free blacks – to Liberia in Africa. More than 3,700 Virginians – emancipated slaves and free blacks – are known to have emigrated from Virginia to Liberia prior to 1867.
Native people resisted [...]

The American Colonization Society (ACS) was established in 1816 to promote the voluntary return of African Americans – emancipated slaves as well as free blacks – to Africa. Lott Cary, a Virginia slave born in Charles City County purchased his own freedom and eventually raised enough money to pay for his own transport to Liberia. [...]

The American Colonization Society (ACS) was established in 1816 to promote the voluntary return of African Americans – emancipated slaves as well as free blacks – to Africa. With the help of the U.S. government, the colony of Liberia was created to receive them. Virginians were instrumental both in the formation of [...]

Louis Isaac Jaffé, editor of the influential Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper from 1919 until his death in 1950, earned renown for his sponsorship and promotion of Virginia’s anti-lynching law and his racial activism. A lifelong liberal, Jaffé battled bigotry and championed reforms that improved the daily lives of southern blacks, especially those residing in Hampton Roads. [...]