Elvatrice Belsches, "An Overview of Black Women in Virginia and the Battle for the Ballot"
In Commemoration of the Ratification and Adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Richmond Public Law Library is hosting a month long program of events, including the library’s Suffragists’ You Tube videos, memorabilia and book displays, showings of Woman’s Suffrage DVDs, music, talks, book signings, and more.
On August 18, 2021, noted local public historian, archival researcher, lecturer, author and filmmaker Elvatrice Belsches will deliver a talk entitled "An Overview of Black Women in Virginia and the Battle for the Ballot," discussing Virginia's Black female suffragists and their role in the Woman's Suffrage Movement. A Question and Answer session will follow. She will be available to sign her book, Black America Series: Richmond, Virginia. "Through the use of rare documents, photographs and detailed captions, Belsches offers a meticulously researched history that spans several centures." She has updated the book in 2021 "to include new and corrective scholarship...." Arcadia Publishing
Elvatrice Parker Belsches is also a contributor to the African American National Biography and was an in-studio researcher for Steven Spielberg's motion picture, LINCOLN. She recently received a $10,000 grant from Virginia Humanities to support the research, publication, documentary, and creation of an oral archives surrounding the life of noted educator Virginia E. Randolph.
The photographer for the photo is Brian Palmer and it is copyrighted by Elvatrice Belsches (2020).
- Date:
- Wednesday, August 18, 2021
- Time:
- 6:00pm - 7:00pm
- Location:
- Gellman Room - Main Library
- Categories:
- Author Visit Book Discussion Civic Life Law Lectures & Talks
- Audience:
- Adults Seniors
Meldon Jenkins-Jones is the Richmond Public Library / Community Services Manager at Hull Street Branch Library.
Meldon also chairs the Get Lit Advisory Committee which supports the Richmond Public Library Get Lit Reading Initiatives including the Black Male Emergent Readers (BMER) program and the Lit Chicks Read book clubs.
Meldon is a graduate of the Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2022. She was the first recipient of the Virginia Library Association (VLA) Librarians of Color Forum Award in 2021 and is an active member of VLA. She presented “Libraries Bringing Community Together” at the 2023 VLA Annual Conference.
In 2011, Meldon received her Master of Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law—Newark and practiced law in New Jersey until her retirement in 2003. Meldon received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she studied African American Studies and Russian Civilization.
A Metro Richmond resident, Meldon is the mother of two adult children and enjoys spending time with her grandchildren.
