Join co-authors Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews and Dr. Raymond Pierre Hylton as they discuss their new book, Images of America: The Richmond 34 and the Civil Rights Movement, and the events surrounding the arrest of 34 Virginia Union University students during a sit-in protest in Richmond, Virginia in 1960.

History:

February 22, 1960, bore witness to an event that would forever change the social, political, and economic life of a city, a state, and millions of inhabitants. The arrest of 34 Virginia Union University students during a sit-in protest at the most upscale department store in Richmond, Virginia, heralded the upending of a long-established way of life and a change of direction from which there would be no turning back. The students would see their actions galvanize a community into effecting wide-ranging reforms in desegregation and play a significant role in ending the nearly 70-year grip on power of one of the nation's strongest political machines. Bafflingly, their achievement faded into obscurity, and only in recent years has its importance been recognized. Now, the story of this historic event is told by area scholars, co-authors Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews, and Dr. Raymond Pierre Hylton in their new book, The Richmond 34 and the Civil Rights Movement. Join co-authors Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews and Dr. Raymond Pierre Hylton as they discuss their new book, Images of America: The Richmond 34 and the Civil Rights Movement, and the events surrounding the arrest of 34 Virginia Union University students during a sit-in protest in Richmond, Virginia.

Authors:

Dr. Kimberly A. Matthews is a professor of leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Matthews earned her doctorate in education at Virginia Commonwealth University (2012) and began teaching with Virginia Commonwealth University's LEAD living-learning program. She is the author of the history of the Images of Modern America: The Richmond Crusade for Voters. 

Dr. Raymond Pierre Hylton is a professor of history at Virginia Union University. Dr. Hylton earned his doctorate in history at the University College Dublin, Ireland (1986), and first taught at Virginia Union as an adjunct instructor in 1988. He became a full-time faculty member in 1991 and served as dean and department chair. He is the author of History of Virginia Union University and Ireland's Huguenots & their Refuge: An Unlikely Haven.

A question and answer period will follow the discussion.  This program, introduced by Law Librarian Meldon D. Jenkins-Jones, is sponsored by the Richmond Public Law Library.