African American History in Hampton Roads, VA

Significant Events:

1607:  First permanent English colony in North America was established in Jamestowne.

1661:  Virginia's House of Burgesses established the lifelong servitude of Africans.

1790:  Virginia's slave population was over 292,000.  Free Blacks numbered about 11,000.

1863-70:  Emancipation Proclamation (1863), 13th Amendment abolished slavery (1865), 14th Amendment granted citizenship (1868), 15th Amendment granted the franchise (1870).

1896:  Plessy v. Ferguson established the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Landmarks:

1.  Old Point Comfort at Fort Monroe--"freedom fortress" where slaves were granted refuge in 1861.

2.  Historic Jamestowne--first permanent English settlement and arrival site of first Africans in 1619.

3.  Colonial Williamsburg--VA capital and world's largest living history; half black in 18th century.

4.  Yorktown--site of climactic battle of the American Revolution.

5.  The Great Dismal Swamp--refuge for runaway slaves (Maroons) in 18th and 19th centuries.

6.  Emancipation Oak--first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation located at Hampton University.

Source: 

WHRO, African American History Comes Alive in Hampton Roads (2010). www.whro.org