Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project Ten Years! So much to be thankful for!“The best thing about this project are the friends I’ve made.”
We get inspiration from our mission: LEARN, SHARE, AND ILLUMINATE, the rich African American history of the Shenandoah Valley.
We come together at our Heritage Center, 425 Hill St., Harrisonburg, VA 22802, to talk, share and learn from each other. With the help of the community our Heritage Center now has solar power!
We have pubic events like our annual Honoring Shenandoah Valley Soul Food History and Chefs to help bring awareness to our work and honor members of the community.
Our staff and interns conduct research and work to recover a history long over looked.
The Lucy F. Simms School did not have yearbooks. We are creating one that will be distributed to graduates and/or their families and available for purchase by others. Look for the yearbook in 2024!
Two Memory Parties have been funded for us by the Alliance for the Shenandoah/Funding program partners include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. These will be in 2024 in Luray and Staunton.
Our African American History Tours, which can be found on our www.rootsrundeep.org website, are expanding. Original funding allowed us to do tours for 1/2 of the Valley and we are happy to announce funding for the rest of the tours is on the horizon. Stay tuned for an announcement in early 2024.
Databases and Story Maps of burial grounds and other historic sites are being created with the help of other organizations like the Alliance of the Shenandoah and the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance. We can’t thank them enough for their support.
We are planning several virtual/hybrid programs for 2024 - 2025. These will include performances and historical readings inspired by our “We Honor Those Who Have Served” book about the Valley men who fought with the USCT.
We have been fortunate to have received several grants, however it is much more challenging to raise funds for staff salaries and capitol projects. Please consider a one time donation or becoming a Friend of the SVBHP with a monthly donation. Our Friends of the SVBHP are so important. If you are currently a donor, please know how incredibly important it is to us and how thankful we are for your support!
DONATE The DONATE button will take you to our Donation page on our website: www.valleyblackheritage.org where you can make an online donation! Thank you!
Copyright (C) 2023 Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project. All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because of your interest in our project.
Our mailing address is: Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project 425 Hill St. Harrisonburg, VA 22802 USA
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We have received a $25,000.00 Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to the National Trust for Historic Preservation!
Roots Run Deep Self Guided African American History Tours have been launched.
Tours include:
Clarke/Warren Counties
Frederick County
Luray
Shenandoah/Page Counties
Rockingham County
Harrisonburg
Zenda
Staunton/Augusta County
Booklets and maps about each tour are available for download on www.rootsrundeep.org.
We want to thank all those who have donated! Please consider becoming a monthly donor! Donate
Special thanks to our recent funders!
The Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Please consider joining our monthly donor group - Friends of the Heritage Center. These monthly donations help keep our organization going. Many thanks to our Friends, who make their monthly donations without fail. It is a huge help! PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND DONATE TODAY! Go to our Donate page to learn more. All Donations 100% tax deductible. Our EIN is 81-1709430. Thank You!
"If you get, give. If you learn, teach." Dr. Maya Angelou
Thank you!
Thank you to our Friends of the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project for their recurring monthly donations during 2022 and continue into 2023.
We have been supported by so many wonderful people. Here are some of our most recent donors; Barb and Tom Melby, Katherine Yoder -Thanks for the important work you’re doing in this community. Teresa Ballard - "Tony’s family asked that anyone wanting to remember him should help a stranger in need. The SVBHP is not a stranger to me but it is a great organization that I think Tony would have liked. Please use this bit for whatever you feel is needed most.", Benjamin and Sarah Bixler, Kevin and Jere Borg, William Alcorn, Arnold Kahn joined the Friends of the SVBHP with his monthly donation, Mr. & Mrs. Lowell Toliver, Corliss Brown, Judi and RC Scott, Tracy Zimmerman, Billo Harper - In honor of Dr. Doris Howard Harper Allen, Alliance fo the Shenandoah Valley, Jenifer Falls, Clinton Davis, House of Oak and Sofas, Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalists, Elaine Blakey, Kate Wofford, Wallace Robinson, Susan George, Megan Gallagher and a donation in appreciation of Chinese & Renard Turner.
Once again we want to thank the Jerome L. Greene Foundation for their support in 2022. We are so thankful to Crescent Cities Charities for their continuing support.
Throughout the website you will find presentations, research, links to historical societies, photos, videos and more about African-American History of the Shenandoah Valley. These have been donated to us by Shenandoah Valley historians and residents. We are continually adding more to the website so be sure to come back. If you are a researcher or have materials you would like to donate to us, please contact Robin Lyttle at robinlyttle@valleyblackheritage.org or call her at 540 908-1020. Thank you for visiting our website!
Photos Used Throughout The Website Are Courtesy Of Billo Harper, Jennifer Vickers, Rosemarie Palmer and Robin Lyttle.
www.valleyblackheritage.org; Director (540 746-2088), directormlr@valleyblackheritage.org; Mailing address: SVBHP, 425 Hill St., Harrisonburg, VA 22802 EIN 81-1709430