A Web site highlighting Richmond’s role as one of the world’s largest slave-trading sites is expected to be online by the end of April. The database will include documents from the Richmond Slave Trail Commission since its founding in 1998.
This database is the result of a combined effort from VCU Libraries, the VCU Department of History and the Richmond Slave Trail Commission. The Web site will be run by VCU Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives.
David Herring, commission member and director of the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, said this documentation is important because the history of slavery in Richmond has been ignored.
“It’s history that has been literally and figuratively buried for all sorts of reasons,” Herring said. “It’s going to be important to tell the entire story of Richmond’s history.”
The commission has recently been placed in the spotlight because of projects it has been involved with, including the excavation and archeological dig of Lumpkin’s Jail and the Reconciliation Statue erected near 15th and Main Streets. This, Herring said, is why the Library’s project is important.
“We’re at sort of the apex of being catapulted into national and international exposure,” Herring said. “It’s going to be a terrific resource to see how all of that can be researched through the system.”
VCU’s head of Special Collections and Archives Alex Lorch applied for a federal grant to fund the initiative. After the grant was approved in January, special collections intern Melinda Kate Callaway began collecting documents from the commission.
“I think Richmond is an impetus and VCU is working to tell the commission’s story. What we’re seeking to do is expand and heal,” Callaway said.
Special Collections Assistant Archivist Ray Bonis said the database will include a bibliography, a list of journals and books and manuscript collections from local museums and personal collections.
“There’s no other site focusing just on Richmond and slavery, and it was such an important part of the slave trade in America,” Bonis said. “More slaves were sold here then would end up going to the South. Richmond was very important . we forgot about that for a long time, and now we’re recognizing that fact.”
Herring said the work of the VCU Libraries will be important for researchers who want to study the commission as they continue their work.
“This is information that you didn’t hear anything about 10 years ago,” Herring said. “You heard small bits and pieces of it, but it was largely buried or archived in obscure places. Now it’s really mainstream information that people want to know about.”