City Center in Richmond, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Richmond 34
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 1, 2016
1. Richmond 34 Marker
Inscription.
Richmond 34. . On 22 Feb. 1960, 34 Virginia Union University students, 11 women and 23 men, refused to leave the segregated dining facilities here at Thalhimers department store and were arrested. Charged with trespassing, they were later convicted and fined. This sit-in was part of a wave of protests across the South inspired by recent sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. The arrest of the Richmond 34 sparked the Campaign for Human Dignity, which organized boycotts and picketed Richmond businesses. Thalhimers and other retailers subsequently desegregated. In June 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions of the Richmond 34 in Randolph v. Virginia.
On 22 Feb. 1960, 34 Virginia Union University students, 11 women and 23 men, refused to leave the segregated dining facilities here at Thalhimers department store and were arrested. Charged with trespassing, they were later convicted and fined. This sit-in was part of a wave of protests across the South inspired by recent sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. The arrest of the Richmond 34 sparked the Campaign for Human Dignity, which organized boycotts and picketed Richmond businesses. Thalhimers and other retailers subsequently desegregated. In June 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions of the Richmond 34 in Randolph v. Virginia.
Erected 2009 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number SA-83.)
Location. 37° 32.522′ N, 77° 26.177′ W. Marker is in Richmond, Virginia. It is in City Center. It is on East Broad Street east of North 6th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Richmond VA 23219, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Virginia. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 1, 2016, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,972 times since then and 128 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on July 1, 2016, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
