Where to Play, Eat, and Stay in Richmond, VA, for Arts, Culture, and Black Excellence

15.11.2024 - 09:37 / matadornetwork.com

On the first Friday of every month in Richmond, Virginia, the art galleries on Broad Street open to the public so that everyone can celebrate the city’s creatives. That’s one example of how deep the arts run in Richmond, where you’ll also find murals painted on historic brick buildings across town and a variety of museums and monuments honoring the city’s Black culture.

The motto “Virginia is for Lovers” is evident through the love and reverence that Richmond’s residents have for the city’s Black culture. Nowhere is this more evident than the Jackson Ward neighborhood, whose 2nd Street was historically known as Black Wall Street 20 years before Tulsa, Oklahoma, claimed the title. During its heyday, there were five Black banks, seven Black-owned insurance companies, and 300 thriving Black-owned businesses. At once bustling with music, art, and creativity, the neighorhood was also known as the “Harlem of the South.”

Today, murals throughout the area honor Jackson Ward’s contributions to Richmond at large. Here’s where to see those works and more.

Photo: Leslie Robinson

Maggie Lena Walker was a Black businesswoman and the first woman to open a bank in the US. Before starting the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, she was a teacher, started an insurance company, and was the editor of the St. Luke Herald. Walker was born on July 15, 1864, to enslaved parents but died a prominent Southern businesswoman. Her primary residence is now a National Historic Site, with over 90 percent of the details original to when she lived there.

The front parlor has two fireplaces, golden cornice boards, gilded crown molding, and chandeliers with ornate golden medallions. Walker also had a library with a wall full of books and installed an elevator in the rear of the house when she became wheelchair-bound so that she could access her upstairs bedroom. An example of Black excellence before the term was coined, Walker used her home as a way to motivate others that homeownership was attainable — over a century later, the property continues to inspire during the site’s daily tours.

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site:600 N 2nd St, Richmond, VA 23219

Photo: Leslie Robinson

Raised in Jackson Ward, Gary Flowers is a Harvard professor and a Richmond Region Tourism-certified Ambassador Guide. His 20-stop tours tell the story of the historically Black Jackson Ward neighborhood, visiting points of interest like Maggie Walker’s home and the Bill “Bojangles” Robinson statue honoring the dancer and actor most popular for his dance scene with Shirley Temple. Throughout the tour, which starts at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Flowers is passionate and honest in his account of Richmond’s history.

Walking the Ward with Gary