On February 11, at 2:30 pm, Albemarle County, Jefferson Madison Regional Library, and the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center launched a traveling exhibition memorializing the July 12, 1898, lynching of Mr. John Henry James on property formerly known as Wood’s Crossing in Albemarle County.
The exhibit, a collaboration of JMRL, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, and Albemarle County’s newly formed Office of Equity and Inclusion, began its journey through JMRL’s Charlottesville City and Albemarle County locations system with a display at the Crozet Library. The exhibit was on display at the Crozet Library until the end of February and is now traveling through several library branches before it will be installed at its semi-permanent home as part of the upcoming local history exhibit at the County Office Building (401 McIntire Rd).
At the February 11 unveiling, remarks were made by Albemarle County Supervisors Ann Mallek and Diantha McKeel, and by Dr. Andrea Douglas (Jefferson School African American Heritage Center), one the organizers of the July 2018 Community Civil Rights Pilgrimage that traveled to deliver soil from the lynching site to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.
The exhibition features soil from the lynching site of John Henry James, and a digital display with media from recent community remembrance activities, historical documents, interpretive text, and a related reading list.
Exhibit travel schedule:
- March: Central Library
- April: Gordon Avenue Library
- May: Scottsville Library
- June: Northside Library
- Beginning July: Albemarle County Office Building
News coverage of the exhibit: