The Foundation will sponsor tours for visitors eager to explore and learn more about the city’s rich African American History. A few highlights include:
Corling’s Corner
A slave pen in downtown Petersburg.
Pocahontas Island
Petersburg was the home to a substantial population of free Blacks. A number of them lived on Pocahontas Island, establishing it as one of the oldest Black communities in the country. A home on this island was purported to be an active stop on the underground railroad.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts Monument
Roberts, a resident of Petersburg from 1815-1829, emigrated to Liberia – eventually becoming its first President in 1847.
First Baptist Church
Harrison Street, one of the nation’s oldest African American churches
Petersburg National Battlefield
The fall of Petersburg to Union forces in 1865 brought about the final defeat of the Confederacy – and African Americans made a significant contribution to the battle.
Peabody High School
The earliest publicly funded high school in Virginia.
Virginia State University
The nation’s first state supported college for African-Americans.
After the Civil War, the Readjuster Party joined with African American leaders to establish this school of higher learning. William Mahone, the leader of the integrated Readjuster political party, resided briefly at the McKenney Building.
Civil Rights Trail
In the Civil Rights era, the McKenney Building became the focus of the earliest activism efforts to desegregate businesses and public buildings. Protests, led by Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, not only led to the desegregation of the Library by 1960 but launched Walker’s career as a national Civil Rights leader. After Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Petersburg was one of the first cities in the nation to designate his birthday as a holiday.