Lucian Louis Watts was a Virginia statesman who advocated for government services to support blind citizens. As the first Executive Secretary of the Virginia Department for the Blind and Visually Impaired, he promoted campaigns to prevent blindness, oversaw the development of educational programs for blind adults, and was instrumental in the introduction of sight-saving classes for children with impaired vision in Virginia’s public schools.
Continue Reading »Before the Newbury Center opened in 1957, there was no education available in a school setting in Richmond or the surrounding counties for children younger than five. Preschool itself was an innovative concept then. The facility was purpose-built to become a model preschool for the training of teachers and the design of innovative curriculum.
Continue Reading »When the United States purchased the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands) from Denmark in 1917, the change in the islands’ political status profoundly impacted the educational options afforded to those residing in the territory. Being new subjects of a U.S. empire primarily concerned with preventing enemy expansion in the Caribbean basin both improved and complicated Virgin Islanders’ access to comprehensive education. For those residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands, American citizenship both exposed and exacerbated the precarious conditions of learning and belonging in a U.S. territory. Warped by a history of racialized domination and economic deprivation, education for Black Virgin Islanders has long been fraught by the conditions of precarious citizenship.
Continue Reading »John J. Smallwood and the Temperance, Industrial and Collegiate Institute by James I. Randall October 10, 2022 John Jefferson Smallwood (September 19, 1863–September 29, 1912), founder and president of the Temperance, Industrial and Collegiate Institute in Claremont, Va., achieved much before his untimely passing at the age of 49 in 1912. Despite slavery before, and…
Continue Reading »History of Virginia’s first school for African American deaf and blind children.
Continue Reading »By SWHP staff, 2022. Marian Wright Edelman has been recognized and celebrated for her talents and tireless advocacy on behalf of children and families. Edelman was founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF).
Continue Reading »LGBTQIA+ Health Disparities By: Laura Crouch Editor’s Note: LGBTQIA+ is an umbrella acronym that generally stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and/or questioning), intersex and asexual. The acronym is designed to be as inclusive as possible with the “+” indicating any person who does not identify specifically with any of the listed terms but…
Continue Reading »Virginia Spotswood McKenney Claiborne (1887 – 1981): activist for women’s education and occupational opportunity, museum director by Alice W. Campbell The author is grateful to Meg Hughes, Director of Collections and Chief Curator at The Valentine and to Christine K. Vida, Elise H. Wright Curator of General Collections at The Valentine, for bringing the…
Continue Reading »Bureau of Vocations for Women (1921) published in Directory of Business and Professional Women in Richmond, Virginia, 1921 This published statement outlines the mission and activities of the Bureau of Vocations for Women (originally the Woman’s Occupational Bureau) founded by Orie Latham Hatcher. Hatcher initiated the idea of a school of social work…
Continue Reading »By Laura Crouch, 2020. In the United States, millions of people face hunger and food insecurity each day. Unable to provide for themselves and their families, they turn to food assistance programs for both short and long term needs. The USDA defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA, 2019). About 40 million Americans struggle with food insecurity each year.
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