Hey-We are glad you are here. We hope you are HERE in Virginia Beach to experience the stories where they happened, but we welcome you wherever your heart may be at the present moment.
Hey-We are glad you are here. We hope you are HERE in Virginia Beach to experience the stories where they happened, but we welcome you wherever your heart may be at the present moment.
TRUTH BE TOLD: AN AUDIO TOUR OF VIRGINIA BEACH
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Nichole Hill: Welcome to Virginia Beach, or Princess Anne County as it was called not that long ago. We invite you to hear vignettes from your neighbors that happened HERE–in a place you might recognize.
We are also glad if you are listening from somewhere else.
Whether your roots are here in a deep generational way, or you are passing through-- the people who shared their lived experiences for this project will welcome you into sacred spaces of loving community.
I’m Nichole Hill, and I’ll be your guide, introducing you to residents from Historically Black neighborhoods in Virginia Beach, including: Gracetown, Atlantic Park, Newsome Farms, the Oceanfront, and Mill Dam.
The 5 stories you’ll hear on this series were selected because they demonstrate the interconnectedness of our community.
If you'd like to deepen your knowledge about this land after you listen we have plenty of resources available in the shownotes.
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Fannie Williams Dixon: Oh, just the joy of just growing up in a neighborhood. We had a neighbor and there were a lot of kids. There were a lot of us, you know, and if one of 'em got in trouble, all of us were in trouble. Cause we would help out. We didn't let you go by yourself. We didn't do anything by yourself. You know, that's the neighborhood we grew up in.
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Nichole Hill: We are now on land originally belonging to the Lumbee and the Chesapeake peoples. African people were brought to this land--specifically up the road in Hampton, Virginia starting as early as 1619.
Following emancipation, many worked and saved enough to purchase the land where they had formerly been enslaved. Out of these purchases, neighborhoods formed; some still in existence, and some not.
Hampton Roads was the origin point--the starting place for much larger issues for our country, but for this audio tour, we want to zoom WAY in on the people who live here now, and explore how today’s triumphs and challenges are shaped by our recent history.
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We want to mark spaces that are unmarked. To share stories that walk history forward. To strengthen our understanding of community.
We are building on research done by Edna Hawkins Hendrix and supported by the Virginia African American Cultural Center. These stories walk that history forward. For more information on the neighborhoods you can check out the Virginia African American Cultural Center’s website--linked in the show notes.
This is Virginia Beach--the trials, the triumphs, the TRUTH as told by those who experienced it. Our neighbor Mrs. Jackie Malbon says it best:
Jackie Malbon: I mean, and this is just ordinary people doing extraordinary things in life and nobody knows the contributions that they're making cuz we tend not to focus on people right around us. We don't know the greatness that's right in our midst.
Nichole Hill: We want to mark spaces that are unmarked. To share stories that walk history forward. To strengthen our understanding of community.