Read on Twitter
as a Jewish Richmonder, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of Jackson Ward to the cultural and commercial legacy of the city. many surviving photographs of Jackson Ward from the early 1900s (like the 4th one below) can be credited to Harry Stilson, a streetcar motorman
Stilson’s profession enabled him to explore his passion for photography and document the everyday lives of Jackson Ward residents. he took pictures of everyone and everything in the neighborhood, from Black and Jewish business owners to shockets supervising local slaughterhouses
Stilson’s catalogue is not only remarkable for the sheer number of images that survive, numbering over 5,000 (courtesy of his great-granddaughter) but also because it sheds light on a community that gets little more acknowledgment for its contributions than a historic marker
the legacy and importance of Jackson Ward to the history of Richmond, the South, and America can’t be overstated. Jackson Ward earned titles like “Black Wall Street of America” and “Harlem of the South” in its heyday and was central to the Civil Rights Movement in Richmond.
the community and social structure of Jackson Ward faced destructive housing and infrastructure measures from the 1940’s onwards. the Richmond Housing Authority destroyed 1000 homes and severed the neighborhood in half, cutting down the historic center of the neighborhood.
but the Turnpike and blockbusting practices didn’t destroy everything. the neighborhood and church leaders rescued Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church—founded in 1867 by the legendary John Jasper, who gave the infamous ‘Sun Do Move’ sermon—from being demolished. the church remains.
the history of Jackson Ward is one of finance, faith, displacement, destruction, culture, and community. this thread does not in any part do justice to the legacy and history of such an important part of Richmond history, but I hope it encourages you to dig a little deeper.
whatever city you live in, there is a Jackson Ward. there is buried history that deserves to be recognized. there is history of the disintegration of communities under the guises of ‘renewal’ or ‘development’. don’t forget about Jackson Ward. don’t forget about yours, either.
links to sources/further reading: https://medium.com/@duronchavis/the-socio-economic-assault-against-jackson-ward-ae9bdbcb3223
