Meet the people highlighting Richmond, Virginia’s rich Black history and hopeful future

Roadtrippers | Feb. 16, 2023

There’s no escaping the hard truth that in 1619, the first Africans in America arrived in Virginia and were sold into bondage; from the 1830s through to the Civil War, Richmond was one of the largest slave markets in the U.S. But Elegba Folklore Society president and artistic director Janine Bell seeks to shift from a disempowered narrative to a proud and empowered one. (Read More)

Upscale Magazine: Experience BLK RVA

Elegba Folklore Society featured in The Official 2022 Richmond Region Visitors Guide

2022 Richmond Region Visitors Guide

Exploring and celebrating the uplifting Black stories from Richmond’s painful past

Boston Globe | Feb. 25, 2022

Janine Bell, president and artistic director of the Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond, Va.CHRISTOPHER MUTHER/GLOBE STAFF

Janine Bell, president and artistic director of the Elegba Folklore Society is also looking to educate visitors about the city’s history, but she covers a much more painful chapter.

In addition to running the Folklore Society and programing cultural events, Bell gives tours of the 3-mile Richmond Slave Trail. The Slave Trail is not only one of the most sobering walks in Richmond, it’s also one of the most essential. It begins at Manchester Docks, where ships carrying enslaved Africans arrived, and continues by the auction houses where enslaved people were sold. That’s all leading to the notorious Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and the African Burial Ground.

The Slave Trail, which can also be walked as a self-guided tour, is absolutely heartbreaking. But as Bell pointed out on a recent sunny morning, there is history here that shows fortitude and resilience. She talked about Gabriel’s Rebellion, an 1800 plan by an enslaved man to incite a riot to seize Capitol Square and take Governor James Monroe as a hostage to bargain for freedom for himself and other enslaved residents. The uprising was thwarted by extreme weather. Even though it wasn’t successful, it showed the power of the collective Black population of Richmond.

“There’s a lot about Richmond that tells the story of the United States,” Bell said. “Richmond is often missed in terms of destinations. It’s just beginning to get a better handle on telling its story.” (Read more)

Meet the Faces of Your Downtown

venturerichmond.com | Dec. 9, 2021

For 30 years, the Elegba Folklore Society, at 101 E. Broad Street, has created artistic, educational experiences with high-quality art, spoken word, dance and musical performances bringing awareness to cultural roots across the African diaspora. Elegba also provides tours along Richmond’s trail of enslaved Africans and has engaged audiences virtually during the pandemic. “Richmond has a memory that contributes to our character as a city,” said founder, Janine Bell. (Read more)

Five Kwanzaa Celebrations Around the Country

nytimes.com | Dec. 21, 2020

Kwanzaa is more than an end-of-year display of deep orange and burnt burgundy Dutch wax-print fabrics, and righteous images of fruit bowls sitting near wooden cups. It’s an edifying lifestyle choice.

“More people are starting to focus on who they are, and what they want their families to experience — empowering cultural stories that get our brains from up under the foot of oppression,” said Janine Bell, the president and artistic director of Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond, Va. (Read more)

Folklore society nourishes African heritage

thebeaconnewspapers.com | Dec. 08, 2020

At the gateway to the historic black community of Jackson Ward, a light-filled, street-level building is brightened by the colors of Africa: rich reds, yellows and greens.

This is the headquarters of the Elegba Folklore Society, a cultural arts organization at 101 East Broad Street, whose mission and outreach are different from other Richmond museums.

The society, established 30 years ago by president and artistic director Janine Bell, showcases African art, offers tours, hosts performances and organizes festivals. (Read more)

Janine Bell, founder of the Elegba Folklore Society, 2020 RTD Person of The Year Honoree

richmond.com | Dec 6, 2020

Janine Bell would drive from her home in North Carolina to Washington, never compelled to exit I-95 in Richmond as she marked her progress by the Roman numerals on the Main Street Station clock tower. 

She didn’t realize that the Victorian-era train station lay in the heart of what once was one of the nation’s busiest markets in the buying and selling of Black men, women and children. Or that she was passing the site of an African Burial Ground concealed beneath the pavement of a parking lot. (Read more)

Emmett Till would’ve been 79 years old today. In Richmond, drums rang out in his honor.

richmond.com | Jul 25, 2020

The thumping of basketballs pounding against the ground joined the thwacking of fingers on taut leather drumheads; of tambourines slapped against thighs; of guttural trilling emanating unfiltered joy. Till’s life, and the lives of those also ripped from them — “dum dum dum” — would be celebrated. Remembered. Mourned.

Organized by the Elegba Folklore Society, an organization born out of the Yoruba culture of West Africa that focuses on bringing “clarity out of confusion,” the “Reclamation Drum Circle” encouraged people to bring along their drums and buckets for a spiritual revival. (Read more)

2019 Richmond History Makers – Janine Bell

The Valentine | Mar. 13, 2019