February is Black History Month, the perfect opportunity to reflect on the prolific activists and change-makers who helped shape not only RRHA communities, but Richmond as a whole. These and other Black community leaders have shaped our city and the neighborhoods within it, and their contributions deserve to be remembered and celebrated.
John Mitchell, Jr.
Born a slave in 1863, John Mitchell, Jr. was a prolific reporter and newspaper editor even as a young man. Documenting the racism and violence Black Richmonders experienced after the Civil War, Mitchell faced legal challenges and death threats. His paper, The Richmond Planet, was one of the most prominent Black-owned newspapers in the south at the time, and a fierce advocate against racial injustice. Mitchell was its editor for 45 years.
Mitchell has deep ties to the Jackson Ward community in Richmond, elected as Richmond city alderman for Jackson Ward in 1892 and 1894. In an effort to encourage the success of Black enterprise, he founded the Mechanics’ Savings Bank in Jackson Ward at the height of the neighborhood’s prosperity. Today, he’s honored by a mural along W. Broad Street.
Learn more about John Mitchell, Jr.
Lillie Ann Estes
A modern voice for justice in the spirit of Mitchell, Lillie Ann Estes was an RRHA resident who united predominantly Black communities to advocate for the underprivileged, especially in regards to housing.
Working out of her Gilpin Court apartment, Estes was a key proponent of several large changes across the city, including mandating one-for-one replacements for any demolished public housing, and allowing flexibility in rent payment methods at RRHA.
She was involved with several advocacy organizations, including the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Residents of Public Housing Against Mass Eviction (RePHRAME), the Maggie L. Walker Anti-Poverty Commission, and more. Estes passed away in 2019.
Charles Sidney Gilpin
The namesake of the Gilpin Court community, Charles Sidney Gilpin was world-renowned stage actor born in Jackson Ward in 1878. When Gilpin was a young man, roles for Black actors were limited to stereotypes, slapstick, and minstrel shows. Gilpin quickly broke from this mold, though, as one of the founding members of the first stock company in Harlem.
Gilpin’s Broadway debut was in 1919’s Abraham Lincoln, followed by a starring role as the titular lead in The Emperor Jones (1920). In both shows, Gilpin played serious, authentic Black roles, and the world took notice. With national and international tours, Gilpin became perhaps the first celebrity Black actor in America. He was honored by the Drama League, the NAACP, and President Warren Harding, and was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Learn more about Charles Sidney Gilpin
Alma Marie Barlow
Alma Barlow moved to Fairfield Court in 1961. A passionate community member, Barlow was plugged into the Civil Rights Movement happening around her. Following the founding of the National Tenants Organization after the Harlem rent strike, Barlow helped found a local chapter, the Richmond Tenants Organization (RTO); she was elected president in 1975, and served for 15 years.
As a union of residents, Barlow’s RTO advocated for changes to RRHA’s lease agreements, which failed to support the rights and basic needs of residents at the time.
“The primary concerns of the tenants are to have some say in the running of the projects and to eliminate what they call harassment and lack of interest by housing officials for low-income tenants.”
-Alma Marie Barlow, 1978
Today, Barlow’s legacy is felt in many of RRHA’s policies and practices, including resident councils, Tenants’ Bills of Rights, the Resident Advisory Board, and even our new Resident Advocate (ombudsman) role.
Today’s RRHA values and respects the input of residents and community members, but that change didn’t happen by itself. It took the dedicated work of community leaders like Alma Barlow. We know the future of housing in Richmond will continue to be shaped by passionate, committed residents following in Barlow’s footsteps.