Black History at Virginia Tech Timelines
About this Project
The Timeline of Black History at Virginia Tech was first created by the University Archives in 2002 to celebrate 50 years of black students at Virginia Tech. University Archivist Tamara Kennelly directed the project with help from students Justin Iovenitti, Mohamed Amin, and Oladunni Akinpelu. Many other people contributed ideas and materials to build the online exhibit.
In Fall 2017, as part of a Beyond Boundaries Virginia Tech grant, graduate student Jamelle Simmons began research, scanning and compiling images to update the timeline from the year 2000 forward. In Spring 2018, the online exhibit was migrated from the old Special Collections website to Special Collections Online. Adrienne Serra, Technical Archivist, was the architect of the new online exhibit. The new timeline was built using TimelineJS, an open-source application developed by the Knight Lab at Northwestern University.
Special thanks to the following individuals for their help collecting information and materials for this project:
- Latanya Walker, Alumni Association's Director of Alumni Relations for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement
- Cheryl Montgomery, former Black Graduate Student Organization (BGSO) president
- Danielle Lusk, for TEDx Virginia Tech
- Joseph Frazier, Coordinator of Cultural and Community Centers
- Kimberly Williams, Assistant Director for the Black Cultural Center
- Dave Knachel, Senior Director, Photography and Design, VT Athletics
- Graduate Student Association officers Alexandra Hyler, Adwoa Baah-Dwomoh, and Joshua Slaughenhoupt
Please send inquiries about corrections, additional information, and donating images to the project to Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, at specref@vt.edu or 540-231-3810.
Please Note: This exhibit is still a work in progress, and we are still adding new content.
