February 2021 Newsletter

Celebrate Black History Month

Join us in commemorating Black History Month in February with virtual events, online resources, and a banner exhibition.

Two free upcoming virtual events offer fascinating looks into Black history in Virginia. On February 3 at 6:00 PM, the Library hosts a project update on Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative database, which examines records for often-overlooked stories detailing the lives of free and enslaved individuals in the commonwealth prior to 1870. Learn more here. On February 18 at 6:00 PM, retired physician and geneticist Bettye Kearse presents a virtual genealogical book lecture on her work The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family, which shares her family story and explores the issues of legacy, race, and the powerful consequences of telling the whole truth. Learn more here.

Online resources include past exhibitions found on our Virginia Memory website, such as To Be Sold: Virginia and the American Slave Trade and Remaking Virginia: Transformation through Emancipation. All of our projects contribute to the resources on our education portal, Document Bank of Virginia, where teachers and students can find fascinating documents on Black history for projects and classroom use.

Later this month, Dominion Energy and the Library of Virginia will announce the 2021 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History honorees, who are celebrated during Black History Month for their contributions to the commonwealth and the nation. Biographies of honorees will be displayed in a banner exhibition at the Library; featured on materials sent to schools, libraries, and museums across Virginia; and included on an educational website for teachers and students.

2021 Carole Weinstein Author Series Begins February 25

This year’s Carole Weinstein Author Series offers a deep look into Virginia. Historians, poets, and a New York Times best-selling author cover topics such as monuments, racial equity, and the Founding Fathers from a variety of fascinating recent books. As part of the Library’s mission to support the literary arts, this series focuses on Virginia authors and Virginia subjects across all genres.

The events, which run from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, are free and open to the public and will be held virtually until pandemic restrictions allow for in-person events. For more information or to register, please visit https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/weinstein/.

Programs include:

February 25, 2021 (Virtual) – Dr. Elizabeth Catte
Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia

April 15, 2021 (Virtual) – Kim Roberts
By Broad Potomac’s Shore: Great Poems from the Early Days of Our Nation’s Capital

June 10, 2021 (In Person/Virtual as pandemic restrictions allow) – Dr. Vanessa M. Holden
Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner's Community

September 14, 2021 (In Person/Virtual as pandemic restrictions allow) – Dr. Karen L. Cox
No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice

November 17, 2021 (In Person/Virtual as pandemic restrictions allow) – Alexis Coe
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington

For more information, contact Dawn Greggs at 804.692.3813 or dawn.greggs@lva.virginia.gov.

Art in Literature Award Nominations Due March 15

Each year the Library of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts present the Art in Literature: The Mary Lynn Kotz Award, which recognizes an outstanding book that is written primarily in response to a work (or works) of art while also showing the highest literary quality as a creative or scholarly work on its own merit. This unique award, established in 2013, was named in honor of Mary Lynn Kotz, longtime contributing editor of ARTnews. For years Kotz has spoken passionately about the need for clear, exciting writing about art. The Kotz Award is presented during the Library’s annual Literary Awards Celebration each October.

Award nominations will be accepted through March 15, 2021. For more information, submission criteria and instructions, and a nomination form, click here.

The Library is also currently accepting nomination submissions for the 2021 Literary Awards (books published in 2020) through February 10, 2021. After reviewing eligibility requirements, you may submit nominations by completing the online form.