We encourage all Virginians to experience the Slave Trail in Richmond

The Virginia Slave Trail Experience

The Slave Trail Walk is designed to offer insight to and give some understanding of what many call America’s original sin. The experience is intended to offer insight to the Journey that captured Africans experienced through their ninety to one-hundred twenty-day journey from Africa through the diaspora and their arrival in Virginia. The walk provides a poignant representation of the systemic and economic nature of the institution of Slavery. Guided by experienced hosts who will lead your group, participants on the Trail will share the history of Virginia’s role at the epicenter of the domestic trade during the height of the trade. Over ten thousand humans who had been ripped from their homes and families were sold downriver every month to states as far south as Louisiana.

You will be confronted with the reality of how the “Trade” became the economic engine some Virginians devised. The institution of slavery - for Virginia and for individuals like Robert Lumpkin and eighty or so partners – became the source of great wealth. Our Guides will tell the story of the many African Americans and abolitionists that fought for the freedom of those enslaved. We will address the myths and the psychological impact that institution has had on America up to the present. This moving experience serves to highlight the incredible story of the reconciliation available to all, as we detail the role that the former president of Benin played, bringing attention to the powerful chronicle of how Lumpkin’s Jail compound was transformed from the Devil’s Half Acre to God’s Half Acre.

What the experience involves

Virginians for Reconciliation offers a series of different experiences that include all or some of the following:

The Reconciliation experience (2 ½ - 3 hours)

· Libby Hill

· St. John’s and Elizabeth Van Lew

· Manchester Dock

· Lumpkin’s Jail site

· The Burial Ground

· The Reconciliation Status

· This will require transportation between sites.

Pilgrimage Walk (3 – 3 ½ hours)

· Walking from Manchester Dock to Burial Ground.

· Organized transportation will be needed.

Upriver and Downriver Trade Experience (2 hours 30 minutes)

· Walk trail at Manchester Docks

· Transportation to Canal / Henry Box Brown site or reconciliation Statue.

· Walk the trail to Burial ground and Lumpkin’s Jail site.

Richmond’s Downriver Trade of Enslaved Africans (1 ¼ hours)

· Burial ground

· Lumpkin’s Jail Site

· Reconciliation Statue.

VFR can accommodate small or large groups with most tours beginning at 9:00 a.m. unless special circumstances dictate a different arrangement. Participants should wear comfortable clothing and footwear. Those who may suffer from hearing disadvantages should notify the Host.

TO SCHEDULE A Tour or receive additional information, please email kyle@virginiansforreconciliation or director@virginiansforreconciliation.