The Governor wants to make sure Virginians are learning a complete version of the state’s history. His budget includes money to support an emphasis on black history at several sites across the state.
One site expected to get a chunk of that money is the Freedom House in Alexandria. Governor Ralph Northam is proposing it gets almost $2.5 million. He’s visited the slavery museum there and says it’s eye-opening.
“And just to think of how they used to bring human beings in and auction them off,” Northam said. “I regret that part of our past.”
The Governor’s proposed budget also allots $2.5 million to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center in Richmond. Executive Director Adele Johnson plans to make the museum free for Virginia students and create a traveling exhibition.
“We think that black history is a part of America’s history. So we want to make sure that everybody is aware,” Johnson said. “It makes everybody feel good to know that we have ancestors who have done great things to move our country forward.”
Additional money would help make an exhibit on slavery at Monticello permanent, and expand Douthat State Park in Bath County to include land that was once a park for African-Americans during segregation.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
