The Valentine Announces 2018 Richmond History Makers Honorees

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2018

Contact:
Eric Steigleder
Director of Public Relations & Marketing
esteigleder@thevalentine.org

The Valentine Announces 2018 Richmond History Makers Honorees

RICHMOND – Today the Valentine announced the 2018 Richmond History Makers honorees. The Richmond History Makers program has recognized the innovative contributions of individuals and organizations since 2005.

For the first time, the Valentine’s nominating categories are aligned with the Capital Region Collaborative’s (CRC) regional priorities. Here are the 2018 Richmond History Makers honorees and their categories of distinction:

Ashby and Terri Anderson
Creating Quality Educational Opportunities. Aligns with CRC Regional Priority Education

Kim Mahan, MAXX Potential
Demonstrating Innovative Solutions. Aligns with CRC Regional Priorities Workforce Preparation, Job Creation, Transportation

Pam Mines, JP JumPers Foundation
Encouraging Regional Collaboration. Aligns with any of the eight CRC Regional Priorities

Diversity Richmond
Championing Social Justice. Aligns with CRC Regional Priority Social Stability

Duron Chavis, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Promoting Stronger Communities. Aligns with CRC Regional Priority Healthy Communities

CultureWorks
NEW CATEGORY FOR 2018 – Advancing Our Quality of Life. Aligns with CRC Priorities Quality Place, James River, Transportation

The winners were chosen by a Selection Committee made up of Leadership Metro Richmond (LMR) graduates and former honorees.

The Valentine will be honoring these individuals and organizations at the 13th Annual Richmond History Makers Celebration at Virginia Union University’s Claude G. Perkins Living and Learning Center on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 4 p.m.

This year, the Richmond History Makers Celebration has merged with the Capital Region Collaborative’s (CRC) Annual Community Update, providing a unique opportunity to honor Richmond’s hometown heroes while learning about the region’s progress.

Tickets and sponsorships can be purchases here. The 2018 Richmond History Makers is presented by Dominion Energy.

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About the Valentine
The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond stories for more than a century. Through collections, exhibitions and programs, the Valentine provides residents and tourists the opportunity to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of this important region. The Valentine offers major changing exhibitions, which focus on American urban and social history, costumes, decorative arts and architecture. https://thevalentine.org/

About the Capital Region Collaborative
The Capital Region Collaborative brings together local government, business, and community stakeholders to achieve a shared vision for the Richmond Region. CRC partners recognize that the most pressing challenges extend across jurisdictional boundaries and that a cross-sector, cross-jurisdictional approach is needed to reach the region’s full potential. https://www.capitalregioncollaborative.com/

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Religious Freedom’s Possibility

On Religious Freedom Day, William L. Sachs, the Priest Associate at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, reflects on the importance of religious freedom and the integral role of the Valentine First Freedom Center

Interior of the Valentine First Freedom Center, located in historic Shockoe Slip.

Few words have more appeal, and more apparent meaning, than “freedom.” The motto of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Sic semper tyrannis (Thus always to tyrants) gives an important clue to what freedom represents. Arbitrary, unconstrained power must not restrict anyone. Freedom from undue influence has been a hallmark of American life.

Virginia’s role in the advance of American freedom has been significant, of course. A crucial component, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written by Thomas Jefferson, passed the General Assembly on January 16, 1786. A shortened version became the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the basis of the Bill Rights, in 1789.

Since the two-hundredth anniversary of the Virginia Statute, the First Freedom Center has sought to educate the public about religious freedom and to honor those who have advanced it globally. Now affiliated with the Valentine, the First Freedom Center maintains an exhibit at the corner of South 14th and East Cary Streets in Richmond.

Why is education about religious freedom necessary? The meaning of freedom seems clear: religious freedom, and the other freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, is freedom from unwanted influence by any institution. The ideal of freedom from extends to religious groups. The separation of church and state protects religions of all sorts from government interference. As citizens, we are free to pursue any religious affiliation, or none, as we choose.

The Virginia Statute did not reject religion. Nor does the First Amendment mean that religion is excluded from social influence. Jefferson’s draft of the Statute includes reference to God as the “holy author” of human freedom. Jefferson was less concerned with divine than with human intrusion into the right to believe. The subtle message of the Statute concerns not merely freedom from, but freedom for flourishing of faith. Freedom must be active, including religious initiative in society.

The Valentine First Freedom Center Monument, Jay Paul

The Virginia Statute eradicated government restrictions on the practice of religion. Less than fifty years after the Statute’s passage, an astute French observer cited religion’s pivotal role in American life. Alexis de Tocqueville assessed American life in his book, Democracy in America. There Tocqueville cited religion as the basis of American society’s strength.

The meaning of religious freedom is two-fold, Tocqueville concluded. On the one hand, religion encourages morality and order. All religions, regardless of their beliefs, equip people to be good citizens. Faith prompts people to come together in local gatherings. There people deepen in belief and grow in social cooperation. Local faith communities form the basis of democratic life: freedom from restraint must inspire freedom for social good.

The annual observance of the Virginia Statute, January 16, follows observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday, January 15. A minister, King embodied the ideal of religious freedom. Regardless of who we are or what we believe, we can work together for the betterment of all. Freedom’s possibility lies in our hands.

William L. Sachs is the Priest Associate at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond.

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Valentine School Programs: Fall round up!

Student Programs and Tours Manager Marisa Day provides an overview of some of the exciting and innovative student programs the Valentine will be offering this fall.

How does the Valentine continue its mission to educate, engage and challenge a diverse audience? Through our robust selection of school programs, of course! This past fall, our Valentine educators and tour guides served nearly 7,000 students in the Richmond metro region through museum programs, outreach visits and walking and bus tours. All of our programs are led by our wonderful educators who use their love of history and interactive components to encourage students and teachers to explore Richmond’s story – past and present.

A few of the programs the Valentine will be offering this school year includes:

Let’s Make History: Inspired by the wallpaper recently installed in the McClurg Bedroom and supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, this new program explores the creation of home décor found in the 1812 Wickham House. Students discuss 19th century design and create an actual print with woodblocks based off the wallpaper design in the 1812 Wickham house and made by Jake Urbanski of Studio TwoThree. Students and teachers have enjoyed engaging with the museum in a new way and trying their hand at an artisanal skill. For more information on this program, click here.

Jake Urbanski of Studio TwoThree walking students through the printmaking activity.

History Makers in Richmond: Mapping the Monuments: In this program, first and third graders learn about a number of Richmond history makers (Maggie Walker, Thomas Jefferson, Arthur Ashe and others) who shaped local and national history. This field trip also includes a visit to Edward Valentine’s sculpture studio where educators discuss the process used to create and construct monuments. The program culminates with an opportunity for students to design their own monument.

Students exploring the Edward Valentine sculpture studio.

Our Changing Community: Who doesn’t want to play games in a museum? In this program students tour the 1812 Wickham House, play games and participate in activities to learn about how the lives of children in Richmond has changed over the last two centuries.

Students playing historical games as part of the Our Changing Community program.

Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond School Visits: This fall, with programming created and coordinated by our curator Wanda Hernandez, the Valentine has been offering student visits of Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond, the region’s first bilingual exhibition. Recently, students from JR Tucker’s ELL and Spanish Immersion programs toured Nuestras Historias in Spanish and English and participated in activities that encouraged them to think critically about different moments in U.S. history that involved or impacted people of color, including Mendez v. Westminster and Brown v. Board of Education.

Wanda Hernandez touring a school group through Nuestras Historias: Latinos in Richmond.

Of course these are only a selection of what we are excited to offer the students of the Richmond region. The Valentine Public Programs team is always willing to work with teachers to offer materials and programming that is relevant to the classroom curriculum and important to educating engaged and thoughtful citizens.  If you are interested in learning about ways that you can bring students to the Valentine (or bring our programs to your school) please visit our website, https://thevalentine.org/programs-tours/student/ or contact education@thevalentine.org.

Marisa Day is the Student Programs and Tours Manager at the Valentine

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