The Rockingham Council on Human Relations (photo courtesy of Harold Lehman).
On May 22 at 4pm, join us as we open a new exhibit:
A Mixed Legacy: The Brethren and Mennonite Record of Racial Separation and Connection
This exhibit will tell the story of how Brethren and Mennonites have related to people of color throughout their history in the Shenandoah Valley. It will be housed in one of the upstairs rooms of the Log House on our campus, and will feature five panels, four posters, and two videos.
The five panels will tell the story of Brethren and Mennonite refusal to own enslaved persons, their response to Jim Crow-era segregation, their integration of educational institutions, their involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1960s, and their churches today. The four posters will highlight particular people and episodes, including Samuel Weir, Roberta Webb, a letter from Virginia Mennonites to The Herald of Truth in the 1880s, and the attempt to integrate Camp Bethel in the 1940s. Finally, the two videos will showcase the integration of Park School, and the Rockingham Council on Human Relations, an interracial group that included Mennonites and Brethren and worked toward the desegregation of Harrisonburg in the 1960s (pictured above). We have sought to tell these stories with sensitivity and honesty, celebrating victories while also acknowledging our shortcomings.
Our opening event on May 22 at 4pm will take place outside the Log House on our campus, and will be moved inside the house in the event of rain. The program will feature presentations from each of the researchers who worked on the project, and light refreshments will be served.