Please Join us for our next Public Parks Tour, exploring five of Charlottesville’s most significant parks and green spaces.

As Charlottesville continues to reckon with its past and envision its future, this tour invites us to see our parks anew—not just as recreational spaces, but as living archives of belonging, exclusion, and transformation.

Led by Dr. Andrea Douglas and Jordy Yager we’ll trace the histories of segregation and community that shaped these public spaces and consider what they reveal about freedom, access, and memory in the landscape of our city.

Your participation and reflections will help inform ongoing conversations about equity and remembrance in Charlottesville’s public spaces. Reserve your spot today.

Join the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center for the next Murals & Memorials Tour, part of Phase II of the Swords into Plowshares project. Led by Executive Director Dr. Andrea Douglas, this guided tour explores four Charlottesville sites to examine how buildings, murals, and memorials shape our understanding of spatial justice, belonging, and collective memory. RSVP today and add your voice to the ongoing conversation about creating inclusive public spaces. Reserve your spot

Join us at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center Juneteenth celebration. Learn more about the project and sign up to participate in our Park oral history project. Pick up your SIP swag. Click her for Juneteenth info

Reclaiming Public Space invites young people (ages 16–25) from Charlottesville’s Black descendant community to share their visions for how public parks can better serve the community. This one-time event offers an opportunity for youth to voice their ideas for transforming public parks into inclusive, accessible, and culturally reflective spaces. Feedback gathered during the event will directly inform the next steps of the Swords into Plowshares project.

The event will include interactive stations, creative expression, and community dialogue—centering youth voices and ideas. A Youth Vision Report and Action Plan will be developed from the feedback to guide future public space initiatives in Charlottesville.

Join us in this important conversation about history, community, and the future of our shared spaces.

Schedule of Events

10:00 AM – Welcome & Riding/Walking Tour of Washington Park and the surrounding landscape

11:30 AM – Light Lunch & Small Group Discussion

 (Lunch includes Bodo’s, sandwich fixings, assorted chips, and water)

12:15 PM – Collaborative Visioning Activity

Using Mentimeter and open dialogue, participants will respond to questions such as:

• What is an ideal public space?

• What would you like to see done with the bronze?

• If there could be history in every park, what stories would you want told?

• What would you like designers of enduring form to know about your community?

RSVP Here