Amherst Bulletin - Tom Roeper: Cease-fire opportunities amherstbulletin.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from amherstbulletin.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Before they painted the mural, the artists consulted with Elizabeth Johnson Rice, a Richmond native who has been the keeper of the Richmond 34 flame, and Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt, whose father s family managed the Thalhimers chain for 150 years.
Although many of these great Southern department stores have left us, we still have the memories that will live on well past after the doors have closed.
61 years after their sit-in, members of the group are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Author: Connor Rhiel Updated: 6:51 PM EST February 25, 2021
RICHMOND, Va. On February 22, 1960, 34 Virginia Union University students staged a sit-in at a white-only department store in downtown Richmond. The students were arrested, charged with trespassing.
Their eventual conviction was ultimately repealed by the Supreme Court, a landmark decision in the Civil Rights movement. Elizabeth Rice is one of those 34 students.
The friendship between Rice and Elizabeth Thalhimer Smart was spontaneous. She came up to me and said, I appreciate what you ve done and I m sorry you haven t been recognized. I m gonna do all I can to make sure the 50th anniversary is one to remember, Rice recalled, reflecting on their first meeting a decade ago.