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2012 SESSION
WHEREAS, Dr. Philip J. Schwarz, an esteemed professor emeritus of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of History, has made valuable contributions to the preservation of historic sites in the City of Richmond as a member of the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission; and
WHEREAS, a graduate of Brown University, Philip Schwarz earned master’s degrees from the University of Connecticut and Rutgers University and a doctorate from Cornell University; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz, the former chair of the Department of History and Geography at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a nationally recognized expert on the social and political history of Colonial America and slavery in Virginia; and
WHEREAS, over the course of his illustrious career, Dr. Schwarz has written numerous scholarly articles and papers and spoken before academic bodies, churches, clubs, schools, and study groups; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz has provided valuable insight to docents and interpreters at training sessions at Stratford Hall Plantation and Colonial Williamsburg; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz has provided valuable support to the Richmond Slave Trail Commission in its archaeological assessment of the site of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, unveiling of 17 Slave Trail Markers, and reclamation of an African burial ground; and
WHEREAS, the Richmond Slave Trail Commission, consisting of 17 members, was formed in 1998 to “preserve and present the history of slavery in Richmond”; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz extensively researched Robert Lumpkin, the owner of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, to learn more about the man and the slave-trading business he operated; and
WHEREAS, during the 1800s, tens of thousands of African men, women, and children were brought to Richmond, once the second largest slave auction site in the nation, to be sold at auction; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz helped pinpoint the location of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, an old jail complex that Robert Lumpkin purchased in the 1840s to house Africans before they were sold; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz worked alongside fellow Commission members, city officials, and others to develop 17 Slave Trail Markers that would mark significant sites and tell the story of this era in Richmond history and the impact it had on human lives; and
WHEREAS, one such site, a 250-year-old burial ground for slaves and freed blacks, has now been identified and will be marked by a memorial; and
WHEREAS, a valuable resource, Dr. Schwarz has been a tremendous asset to the Richmond Slave Trail Commission as it has worked to identify and protect important historical sites; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Schwarz has retired from the educational system and the Richmond Slave Trail Commission; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Dr. Philip J. Schwarz for his work on the Richmond City Council Slave Trail Commission; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Philip J. Schwarz as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration and respect for his contributions to preserving an important part of the City of Richmond’s past.