Angela L. Flagg, APR, Chief Communications Officer
804.692.3653, angela.flagg@lva.virginia.gov
Free Documentary Film Screenings at the Library of Virginia Explore Stories of Displacement in Connection With the “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History” Exhibition
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA – The Library of Virginia will present two free documentary film screenings highlighting stories of displacement in communities in Charlottesville and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia as part of its programming related to the exhibition “House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History,” on view at the Library through Feb. 28, 2026.
Filmmakers Lorenzo Dickerson and Jordy Yager will discuss their film "Raised/Razed" following a screening on Friday, Nov. 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. Registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/15478175.
The Emmy and Telly Award–winning documentary film "Raised/Razed" dives deep into Charlottesville’s oldest African American neighborhood, Vinegar Hill, charting the lives of residents as they faced racially discriminatory policies and a city government that saw them as the only thing between it and progress. The story examines the hard truths of the federal Urban Renewal program and the broader history of its effect in Durham, North Carolina, and other communities across America. Dickerson and Yager both served as writers and directors of the film.
Filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson is the founder of the Maupintown Film Festival and Maupintown Media, which produces documentary films that focus on sharing stories of African American history and culture in Virginia.
Journalist Jordy Yager is the digital humanities director at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, where he helped launch the African American Oral History Project and the Mapping Cville and Mapping Albemarle projects, the region’s first comprehensive mapping of every property record containing a racial covenant.
Director and executive producer Charles D. Thompson Jr. will discuss his film “Rock Castle Home” following a screening on Friday, Dec. 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. Registration is required at https://lva-virginia.libcal.com/event/15478267.
“Rock Castle Home” explores the dislocation caused by the creation of Blue Ridge Parkway in the mid-1930s. As Rock Castle Gorge became part of the National Park Service’s plan to lure tourists to the Blue Ridge, farm families living there had to be moved. Parkway officials set about acquiring their land. But the story does not end there. Though generations removed, Rock Castle descendants today work to hold onto their past through photographs and stories. This film is a deep chronicle of one Blue Ridge hollow and its people. It is also a story of America and the amazing land we hold in common.
Thompson is a professor of the practice of cultural anthropology and documentary studies at Duke University.
Learn more about the "House to Highway" exhibition and related events at https://www.lva.virginia.gov/events/exhibitions/house-to-highway. Exhibition-related programming is provided with support from Virginia Humanities and the Mellon Foundation.
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