Skip to show segment

Democracy Dies in Danville, 1883

Jane Dailey (University of Chicago)

In 1883 a young African American worker was alleged to have brushed shoulders with a white woman as they passed each other on a narrow sidewalk in Danville, Virginia. A race riot erupted. Jane Dailey says the white supremacist backlash that followed led to the disenfranchisement of Black Virginians for nearly 100 years.

16 mins

A Confederate Son of Danville

Jeff McClurken (University of Mary Washington)

Jeff McClurken discusses the life of a Danville industrialist and former Confederate soldier, William T. Sutherlin, who led a skewed Congressional investigation into the 1883 riot.

12 mins

Policing Race in Reconstruction Danville

Caitlin Verboon (Virginia Tech)

Danville was like many small southern towns and cities after the civil war. Caitlin Verboon studies how white and black citizens viewed each other and interacted in the post-war years.

12 mins

The Danville Riot’s Deadly Legacy

Tom Costa (University of Virginia at Wise)

Tom Costa connects the dots between the Danville riots and the codification of Jim Crow laws in Virginia’s Constitution of  1902.

12 mins

Note: This episode contains descriptions of racial terror.

This episode was produced in partnership with History United. History United is a project of Virginia Humanities, encouraging regional collaboration and building community trust through a greater understanding of shared history. History United’s work is made possible by a grant from the Danville Regional Foundation.

This type of content is made possible by listeners like you. Please consider partnering with us and help enrich the lives of all our listeners nationwide.

Support With Good Reason