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About Us Upcoming Events Museum Exhibit
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We're Making
Black History

Now

In Portsmouth,

About BHN Black History Now events
All Black History Month Events
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Perseverance & Pride

About Us

The story of African Americans in Portsmouth is one of both perseverance and pride, struggle and achievement. Black History Now is a City of Portsmouth Museum’s initiative to create opportunities to celebrate Black excellence and honor the stories of Portsmouth’s Black communities throughout the city’s history. In Portsmouth, Black History isn’t a month or something you find in a history book. We're still making it today.

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Struggle
& Triumph.

An Enduring legacy of

Struggle and Triumph

Exploring the history of labor in portsmouth and beyond

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Forged In Hampton Roads:

A History of Black Labor

@ PORTSMOUTH COLORED COMMUNITY LIBRARY MUSEUM
Now - October 31, 2025

For centuries, African American labor has formed the backbone of this region’s economic development and cultural character. From field workers to highly skilled carpenters and stonecutters to innovative seafarers, Black workers have played a crucial role in farming, shipbuilding, seafaring, and in all branches of the armed forces. Forged in Hampton Roads explores the experiences of Black workers who, despite facing exploitation and discrimination in these industries, laid the foundation for future generations by forging strong communities, fostering resilience, and contributing to economic progress.

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Upcoming Events

Join Us

Join esteemed speakers, explore thought-provoking exhibits, and engage in a range of events that spotlight the pivotal role of Black labor in shaping the history of Hampton Roads and the United States — a legacy that continues to inspire progress today!

Forged in Hampton Roads: A History of Black Labor Exhibit
Now - October 31, 2025

The Portsmouth Colored Community Library Museum
Forged in Hampton Roads: A History of Black Labor Exhibit
This exhibit delves into the struggles and triumphs of the African American workers who built and sustained Hampton Roads, from the colonial era through the present.

Photo Sources:
1.) Local Florist Dee Hall Hard at Work in her Garden, c. 2024 (Courtesy of Dee Hall) 2.) Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry, Ft. Keogh, Montana, c. 1890 (Courtesy of the Library of Congress) 3.) Carte-de-visite of Women and Children in a Cotton Field, c. 1860s (Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture) 4.) Memphis Sanitation Strike Marchers, c 1968 (Courtesy of the University of Memphis Special Collections) 5.) Bianca Wilson at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, c. 2023 (Courtesy of Tony Anderson, NNSY Photographer)

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