Richmond citizens step into Jackson Ward’s history

Mackenzie Meleski, Contributing Writer

Colorful murals lining Jackson Ward’s streets highlight how the neighborhood has impacted Black culture and business throughout history.

Richmond citizens had the opportunity to explore and learn about the culturally significant neighborhood and how it is showcased through art. The Valentine Museum hosted the Murals of Jackson Ward Walking Tour on Aug. 19.

The museum is known for “collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond Stories for over a century,” according to its website. Now, the museum is taking guests onto the streets to learn Richmond’s history firsthand. 

The Valentine tours manager Jessica Delbridge hopes the tours educate citizens on the neighborhoods they live in and venture in everyday.

“It’s just so great to be able to connect with your neighborhood and learn something about where you’re living, whether you’re from here or recently moved,” Delbridge said. “I feel like all of the tours give a different angle on the history of the neighborhood.”

The Murals of Jackson Ward Walking Tour covered the evolution of Jackson Ward from an immigrant working-class neighborhood to the “Harlem of the South” and a modern community today. There was also a focus on the neighborhood’s community mural projects, according to Delbridge.

The murals in Jackson Ward started as community projects intended to revitalize the neighborhood and bring people together, according to Delbridge.

A notable community art project in Jackson Ward is the Unity Street Project, according to Delbridge. Richmond-based muralist Sir James Thornhill spearheaded the project with “a goal of paying tribute and honor to a communities historical legacy through mural arts,” according to the HandsOn Greater Richmond website. 

“There’s so many rich stories that so much art that actually came out of that community and really celebrate the changes and the people who made that community what it is today, for better, for worse and for the future,” Delbridge said.

The tour started on Second Street and went down Marshall and Broad Street. 

Sandy Eberhard, an employee and tour guide for the museum, leads the Jackson Ward Mural Tour and other tour offerings. Eberhard is a lifelong fan of history and started doing tours in 2007 after her retirement.

“I think anyone can benefit from these tours and knowing the history of where they’re living or going to school,” Eberhard said. 

The tour featured murals that recognized famous contributors to Jackson Ward, including Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Maggie Walker and Emmett C. Burke.

Muralist Nils Westergard contributed a mural of Michael Millions, a Richmond-born rapper, to the neighborhood that was featured on the tour. The mural is located next to Mama J’s, a popular restaurant in Jackson Ward. 

Westergard is based in Richmond and has contributed around 40 works of art to the city, he said. When creating a mural, he takes into account where the wall is, what that could potentially mean, what is interesting about the area and what he is interested in.

“Richmond is my city, so I feel I have a broader spectrum of expression that I can work with as opposed to being a visitor in a place that I am often uninformed about, meaning I need to tread more carefully to not stick my foot in my mouth,” Westergard said. “To boil it down to a sentence though, it would be what interests me at the moment.”

The tour included a stop at the Richmond Dairy Company Building, where the GWAR metal performance band was formed. Muralist Colette Miller is a VCU graduate from the school of Fine Arts and former participant in the GWAR performance group. Today, she is famous for her mural series, the “Global Angel Wings Project.” 

Miller contributed an angel wings mural to Richmond, which is located in the outdoor seating area of Lift Cafe near Jackson Ward, according to Miller. Other murals in this series are located in the World Trade Center, Dubai, Los Angeles and Moscow. 

Miller started the project in LA in 2012 when the idea of angel wings came to her after meditation, she said.

“I thought about the divine in humanity, or humanity’s higher nature and to remind us of our higher natures,” Miller said. “I say to remind humanity we are the angels of this earth.”

The Valentine Museum offers guided tours year round, with options ranging from Carytown, Hollywood Cemetery and Church Hill. The tours focus on these unique places’ histories, murals, local businesses and architecture.The next Murals of Jackson Ward Walking Tour will be held on Sept. 1, according to the museum’s website.