Black Petersburg residents — across the age spectrum and socioeconomic divide — were deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Like many cities in the Jim Crow South, schools, public institutions, parks, and private businesses in Petersburg were all segregated before the Civil Rights Movement succeeded in organizing for change at the local, state, and national levels. The story of how this changed in Petersburg — including the places for which integrated access was fought, the people who did the fighting, and how this fight for civil rights progressed — is outlined here. Our StoryMap seeks to present Petersburg’s Civil Rights history as truly one of tenacity, courage, and hope.
The following students in Prof. Bev Wilson’s Civic Technology course at UVA worked with the McKenney Foundation and City of Petersburg to develop maps, digitize interview videos, and create audio transcripts to support this initiative: Rachel Kinzer, Emily Routman, Adam Stevenson, and Rita Wu.