Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Commission to Study Slavery records of the Library of Virginia, 2021-2024. Accession 54417, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Accession 54417 transferred by the Library of Virginia, January 21, 2025.

Historical Information

The Commission to Study Slavery and Subsequent De Jure and De Facto Racial and Economic Discrimination Against African Americans was established by the Virginia General Assembly in July of 2020, and extended in 2022. The Commission was formed to study the current impact and long-term inequities of slavery and the subsequent state-sanctioned de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination practiced against African Americans. In addition to its research mandate, the Commission was tasked with developing recommendations to address these inequities. The Commission was comprised eleven members, including three legislative members and eight citizen appointees.

The Commission's work was divided into three phases. The first phase focused on gathering historical data and consulting primary and secondary resources related to the study of slavery in America. The second phase involved interviews with subject matter experts and communities across the Commonwealth to learn about their experiences and perspectives. The third and final phase of the Commission's work was to develop recommendations to promote educational awareness and identify ways to address the systematic and historical implications affecting the quality of life of a significant population of African American families in the Commonwealth.

Citizen members included Dr. Jody Allen, Dr. Edward L. Ayers, Dr. Andrea Douglas, Dr. John Kinney, Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Xavier Richardson, Dr. Karen Sherry, and Daniel P. Watkins. Legislative members included Del. Delores L. McQuinn and Sen. Mamie E. Locke. Dominique Luster served as the Project Manager (2022-2024) for the Commission and was tasked with overseeing the work of the Commission and unifying efforts between the Commission and partner agency The Library of Virginia, as well as creating workflows, coordinating research, providing administrative support, and engaging external scholars. The Project Manager was based at The Library of Virginia.

Scope and Content

Records of the Commission to Study Slavery and Subsequent De Jure and De Facto Racial and Economic Discrimination Against African Americans, 2021-2024, are comprised of materials created and collected by the Project Manager and include agendas, annual plans, annual reports, correspondence, discussion points, draft reports, interviews, legislation, meeting materials, minutes, notes,photographs, presentations, project plans, recordings, reports, recommendations, recordings, research notes, and talking points. Materials of note include Annual reports, 2022-2024; Meeting materials and minutes, 2022-2024; Two Year Project Plan, 2022; as well as annual plans, Project Manager Reports, and subcommittee reports.

Document types include: doc, jpg, m4q, mp4, pdf, ppt, txt, wav, xls.

Additional Note

These records are part of the Library of Virginia record group (R.G. 35)