The Virginia Tourism Corporation has launched a new Virginia Civil Rights podcast series amplifying stories from across the Commonwealth and highlighting Virginia’s role in the Civil Rights Movement. The Virginia-focused episodes are part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Podcast, a nationally recognized, narrative-style series exploring pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement across the country.
Through firsthand accounts, expert commentary, and historical context, the Virginia Civil Rights podcast examines how individuals and communities across the Commonwealth helped shape the fight for equality—often at great personal cost. The series centers the voices of everyday citizens alongside historians and scholars who continue to study the movement’s lasting impact.
Episodes explore significant civil rights events in Farmville, Fredericksburg, Danville, and Richmond, offering listeners a deeper understanding of how local action in Virginia contributed to national change and underscoring the Commonwealth’s essential place in the broader movement.
“Virginia’s civil rights story is essential to understanding the broader U.S. Civil Rights Movement,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation. “Through this podcast, we are honoring the individuals who stood up for justice, often at great personal cost, while inviting listeners to engage more deeply with the places and stories that shaped our shared history. These narratives are powerful reminders that Virginia’s communities played a critical role in advancing civil rights in our nation.”
Moton is proud to be one of the featured sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The Farmville episode focuses on the 1951 student protest led by Barbara Johns at Robert Russa Moton High School—an act of youth leadership that moved a local struggle for educational equity into a national legal reckoning and helped lay the groundwork for Brown v. Board of Education.
“We were thrilled to have participated in the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Podcast,” said Cainan Townsend, Executive Director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum. “Being added to the trail in 2017 was a tremendous accomplishment for our institution, as it allows us to share a fuller and more cohesive narrative of the civil rights movement. People often do not associate civil rights history with the Commonwealth of Virginia, but I hope these episodes illuminate these stories and demonstrate the crucial role Virginia played in the fight for equality.”
Virginia Episode Highlights
Episode 1: Students Take a Stand
A teenage Barbara Johns leads a student protest at her segregated school in Farmville—an act of courage that would help change legal history in Virginia and beyond.
Featuring: Joan Johns Cobbs, Claude Jones Cobbs, Skip Griffin, Cainan Townsend, and Gary Flowers
Locations featured: Farmville and Richmond
Episode 2: The Movement Arrives
Stories of individuals who sparked real change through school protests and department store sit-ins.
Featuring: Pamela Bridgewater, Lateefah Muhammad, Mary Malone, Clarence Todd, and Gaila Sims
Location featured: Fredericksburg
Episode 3: The Price of Protest
An in-depth look at Bloody Monday, a public library protest, and organized marches that were met with violent backlash.
Featuring: Karice Luck-Brimmer, Sherman Saunders, Cassandra Newby-Alexander, and Robert Vinson
Location featured: Danville
How to Listen
The Virginia Civil Rights podcast series is available as part of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail Podcast on all major platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio.
Listeners can begin with Episode One, Virginia: Students Take a Stand in Farmville, at the link below:
https://us-civil-rights-trail-ae80b8d8.simplecast.com/episodes/virginia-students-take-a-stand-in-farmville-fEBLgl8J
To learn more about Virginia’s sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, visit:
https://www.virginia.org/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/us-civil-rights-trail/