Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) will use local history to create a stronger future for the Dan River Region. Supported by a $702,556 three-year grant from the Danville Regional Foundation (DRF), this community-based project titled “History United” will use local history to spur regional investment and create a strong network of cultural organizations in the Danville area.

VFH will serve as the institutional home for History United, working with local residents and community leaders to help build a new and stronger sense of identity for this region, which includes the City of Danville; Pittsylvania County, Virginia; and Caswell County, North Carolina. The project will formally begin on July 1, 2016.

“A community’s understanding of its history has a powerful effect on the way it imagines—and re-imagines—its future,” said Robert C. Vaughan, VFH president. “This innovative project can have a transformative effect in the Dan River Region, and also create a model that can be adapted to benefit other communities across the Commonwealth.”

“DRF made this investment to help our region move forward. To move forward, we must see our history as a shared asset, rather than a dividing liability. We believe History United will fulfill its name in the Dan River Region,” said DRF President/CEO Karl Stauber.

To implement the project, VFH will work with a local steering committee and an on-site project coordinator to establish a network of cultural organizations in the region, conduct in-depth research leading to a web resource on the region’s African American historic sites, produce a series of community conversations and other programs exploring local history, develop local history programs for teachers in the Danville region, engage younger residents in community dialogue, and work with local organizations to build institutional capacity and a sense of shared purpose.

Project Background: 

For decades, the Dan River Region has struggled with economic changes combined with longstanding weaknesses in its social fabric, resulting partly from its racially divided past. The decline of traditional industries—tobacco, textiles, furniture—that sustained the local economy for generations has led to steady population loss, especially among the region’s young. Deep divisions within the community have made it difficult for local residents and their leaders to create a unified vision of the future and a cohesive strategy for moving forward.

The History United project began in Danville in 2013 with the goal of transforming the legacy of the region’s divisive history into an impulse for positive change. As a new initiative of VFH, History United will build on the strong foundation created by the first three years of the project, as well as successful VFH program models created for other Virginia communities:

• A series of history-oriented “Content Academies” for teachers, developed in partnership with Arlington County Public Schools;
• A two-year community development initiative focusing on African American history in Martinsville and Henry County, in partnership with The Harvest Foundation;
• The Eastern Shore Museums Network, a collaborative effort facilitated by VFH involving fifteen museums and historical societies and reaching across state boundaries;
• The African American Historic Sites Database, which was launched in 2001 and is now being redeveloped to include additional media and stories exploring African American life and achievement in Virginia;
• The “Mapping Local Knowledge” project focusing on the history and complex legacy of the “BloodyMonday” incident, which occurred in Danville during the height of the Civil Rights Movement (supported by multiple VFH grants and fellowships); and
• A recent VFH grant to support a community discussion series on Civil Rights in Danville, sponsored by the Pittsylvania County Public Library.

About VFH: The mission of Virginia Foundation for the Humanities is to connect people and ideas to explore the human experience and inspire cultural engagement. VFH reaches an estimated annual audience of 23 million through the Center for the Book, Community Programs, Digital Initiatives, and Scholarship. For more information, visit VirginiaHumanities.org.

About DRF: The Danville Regional Foundation works to encourage revitalization and renewal in the Dan River Region through long-term investments in education, economic vitality, community wellness, financial stability, and civic capacity for citizens throughout the City of Danville, Virginia; Pittsylvania County, Virginia; and Caswell County, North Carolina. Since its establishment in 2005, DRF has committed more than $85 million through more than 290 grants. DRF is committed to fostering collaboration, establishing partnerships, and working across borders and with many types of organizations to rethink tomorrow and create solutions, positioning the Dan River Region as a place of opportunities. For more information, visit drfonline.org.

Maggie Guggenheimer
Assistant to the President and Communications Officer
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities