- 1 minute 13 secondsRace and Place Trailer
Preview a tour of race and racism in Charlottesville led by former Study Center Board Chair and Architectural History professor at UVA Louis Nelson.
New episodes will be released each weekday in February. Stay tuned!1 March 2019, 8:00 pm - 10 minutes 4 secondsEpisode 1 | The Second Slave Trade
Motivated by Jesus' command in Scripture to love our neighbors, Louis Nelson begins his "Race and Place in Charlottesville" tour with this statement: "We cannot possibly love our neighbor if we don't know our neighbor or know our neighbor's story." Standing at the foot of UVA's Rotunda, Nelson (Board Chair at the Center for Christian Study and Architectural History Professor at UVA) brings to light the ways in which the slave trade—first from West Africa and then within the American South—impacted the landscape of a small university town in Albemarle County.
"Race and Place in Charlottesville" is a production of the Center for Christian Study.28 February 2019, 5:00 am - 11 minutes 54 secondsEpisode 2 | Building the University
Thomas Jefferson has long been lauded as the architect of the University of Virginia's distinctive Academical Village. But what—or better, who—did it take to actually build it? See the Lawn with new eyes as we meet Sam McCarpenter, an enslaved black man, in episode 2 of "Race and Place in Charlottesville."
A production of the Center for Christian Study.27 February 2019, 5:00 am - 10 minutes 56 secondsEpisode 3 | Hidden Stories at UVA
At surface level, the University of Virginia's Academical Village has always represented a landscape of opportunity, community, and academic possibility. Take a short flight of stairs from the Lawn, however, and you'll find a different story—the story of Lucy Cotrell—unveiled in the basements of UVA's famous Pavilions.
26 February 2019, 5:00 am - 9 minutes 13 secondsEpisode 4 | Secret Gardens
Listener discretion is advised.
The University of Virginia's serpentine walls that border its famous Gardens originally rose to an impressive eight feet tall. Learn more about the hard work that took place behind these walls during the university's early years... and the hard stories of the men and women who walked the alleys between them every day.
We welcome archaeologist Benjamin Ford of Rivanna Archaeological Services to this episode.25 February 2019, 7:00 am - 13 minutes 3 secondsEpisode 5 | Archaeology at UVA
Take a break from the walking tour to sit down with archaeologist Benjamin Ford of Rivanna Archaeological Services, LLC, as he and Professor Nelson discuss what the University of Virginia's archaeological record has to tell us about the lives—and deaths—of its enslaved laborers.
24 February 2019, 9:00 am - 7 minutes 19 secondsEpisode 6 | Digging Up Graves
Professor Nelson returns for the next stop of the "Race and Place in Charlottesville" tour: the site of the University of Virginia's Anatomical Theater. Once located near present-day Alderman Library, the Theater served as the stage for a 19th-century innovation in medical research—dissecting human cadavers for anatomical study. The demand for corpses lead to an increase in bodysnatchers, who pilfered the graves of enslaved laborers.
With archaeologist Benjamin Ford of Rivanna Archaeological Services, LLC.23 February 2019, 9:00 am - 6 minutes 53 secondsEpisode 7 | Futility of Resistance
The "Race and Place in Charlottesville" tour leaves UVA Grounds to head toward the Downtown Mall. On the way there, stop at the base of the George R. Clark Monument, now standing at the intersection of West Main and Jefferson Park Ave. Discover the history of this statue, its unveiling, and the implications it continues to have for Charlottesville's African-American community.
22 February 2019, 8:00 am - 9 minutes 27 secondsEpisode 8 | Eugenics at UVA
Still standing at the base of the George R. Clark monument, Professor Nelson explores how the University of Virginia medical school in the 20th century embraced the scientific movement of the day: the race-based science later known as eugenics. With its emphasis on the inferiority of “the American negro,” eugenics served as the justification for laws that supported race-based segregation and sterilization of African-Americans.
21 February 2019, 8:00 am - 10 minutes 31 secondsEpisode 9 | Building Bridges
The Drewary Brown Bridge, which crosses the train tracks above the Amtrak, is named for one of Charlottesville’s most important African-American Civil Rights leaders. On this stop of the tour, Professor Nelson introduces us to Charlottesville’s heroic “Bridge Builders” and their commitment to rising above the oppression of segregation to fight for the well-being of the entire city.
20 February 2019, 5:00 am - 10 minutes 37 secondsEpisode 10 | Property and Power
Journalist Jordy Yager joins Professor Nelson in the Study Center library to share his findings from research concerning Charlottesvillle's black citizens' access to property (and the power that comes with it) from the plantation era to today.
19 February 2019, 5:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App