The convergence of European, Indigenous and West African cultures heavily shape Virginia’s past and present. This is especially true for Avery, born and raised in Virginia, with ancestral roots in three cultural groups.

His paternal great-grandmother was a member of the Chickahominy tribe, a federally recognized tribe of Indigenous Virginians. Other ancestors on his paternal side descended from Africans, some from Nigeria and the Congo region who were enslaved in Virginia and North Carolina for generations. His maternal side descends from a variety of European immigrant groups, including the Irish who fled to America during the Great Hunger in the 1800s. The modern-day descendants of these three groups, including Avery’s family, navigate their legacies at an individual and community level.

Born and raised in Southern California, Samantha’s family’s migration story goes back to the early 20th-century. Despite anti-immigrant sentiments from the late 19th-century onward, especially towards immigrants from Asia, hundreds of thousands of people came to settle in the United States. Samantha’s maternal family came from China through San Francisco and her paternal family from Europe through Ellis Island before quickly moving West.

Despite California’s iconic draw, Samantha deviated from her family’s patterns and moved to Virginia to pursue a career in historical fashion and clothing construction. With her interest in 17th and 18th-century American history she has found an abundance of opportunities on the East Coast that align with her passions.

In the 1830s, American slaveowners, eager to increase profits by growing cotton and sugar on larger plantations, moved hundreds of thousands of enslaved people further south and west from Virginia tobacco plantations. While enslaved people were being moved out of Virginia, Douglas Wilder’s ancestors were kept there, laboring on tobacco plantations.

Wilder was born in 1931 in the midst of the Great Migration, during which African Americans moved out of the Jim Crow South to seek opportunities elsewhere. Wilder, the grandson of enslaved individuals, developed a successful political career in Virginia. In 1990, after serving in a variety of positions, Wilder became the 66th governor of Virginia and the first African American governor in United States history.

Land dispossession by the forced migration of Indigenous populations is one of the longest-standing effects of colonialism.

In 1821, Nottoway Chief Edith Turner confronted the Virginia General Assembly regarding the management of Nottoway land. Facing debts, the Nottoway sold pieces of their land, which made following their traditional way of life very difficult. Turner, also known by her tribal name, Wané Roonseraw, took advantage of U.S. laws to protect Nottoway land. She petitioned for the remaining land to be split amongst tribal members.

Turner set a strong example by starting her own farm, which prospered and made her self-sufficient. Despite most Nottoway land being sold since, current tribal members still live on Virginia’s coastal plain, in proximity to their ancestral lands.

Thomas Paine was born in 1737 in Norfolk, England. In 1774, Paine immigrated to the North American colony of Philadelphia to free himself from the control and intolerance of the English government.

As a supporter of revolutionary causes, he wrote in support of American independence and denounced the hereditary monarchy and other European customs. In his famous 1776 pamphlet “Common Sense,” Paine decreed that America was to serve as a place of liberation for immigrants from the oppressions of Europe. He wrote that it was the privilege and responsibility of America to accept those seeking rebirth and freedom. Common Sense galvanized countless Americans to support the patriots’ cause, and its principles were embedded in the nations’ founding documents.

Thomas Paine was born in 1737 in Norfolk, England. In 1774, Paine immigrated to the North American colony of Philadelphia to free himself from the control and intolerance of the English government.

As a supporter of revolutionary causes, he wrote in support of American independence and denounced the hereditary monarchy and other European customs. In his famous 1776 pamphlet “Common Sense,” Paine decreed that America was to serve as a place of liberation for immigrants from the oppressions of Europe. He wrote that it was the privilege and responsibility of America to accept those seeking rebirth and freedom. Common Sense galvanized countless Americans to support the patriots’ cause, and its principles were embedded in the nations’ founding documents.

Land dispossession by the forced migration of Indigenous populations is one of the longest-standing effects of colonialism.

In 1821, Nottoway Chief Edith Turner confronted the Virginia General Assembly regarding the management of Nottoway land. Facing debts, the Nottoway sold pieces of their land, which made following their traditional way of life very difficult. Turner, also known by her tribal name, Wané Roonseraw, took advantage of U.S. laws to protect Nottoway land. She petitioned for the remaining land to be split amongst tribal members.

Turner set a strong example by starting her own farm, which prospered and made her self-sufficient. Despite most Nottoway land being sold since, current tribal members still live on Virginia’s coastal plain, in proximity to their ancestral lands.

In the 1830s, American slaveowners, eager to increase profits by growing cotton and sugar on larger plantations, moved hundreds of thousands of enslaved people further south and west from Virginia tobacco plantations. While enslaved people were being moved out of Virginia, Douglas Wilder’s ancestors were kept there, laboring on tobacco plantations.

Wilder was born in 1931 in the midst of the Great Migration, during which African Americans moved out of the Jim Crow South to seek opportunities elsewhere. Wilder, the grandson of enslaved individuals, developed a successful political career in Virginia. In 1990, after serving in a variety of positions, Wilder became the 66th governor of Virginia and the first African American governor in United States history.

Born and raised in Southern California, Samantha’s family’s migration story goes back to the early 20th-century. Despite anti-immigrant sentiments from the late 19th-century onward, especially towards immigrants from Asia, hundreds of thousands of people came to settle in the United States. Samantha’s maternal family came from China through San Francisco and her paternal family from Europe through Ellis Island before quickly moving West.

Despite California’s iconic draw, Samantha deviated from her family’s patterns and moved to Virginia to pursue a career in historical fashion and clothing construction. With her interest in 17th and 18th-century American history she has found an abundance of opportunities on the East Coast that align with her passions.

The convergence of European, Indigenous and West African cultures heavily shape Virginia’s past and present. This is especially true for Avery, born and raised in Virginia, with ancestral roots in three cultural groups.

His paternal great-grandmother was a member of the Chickahominy tribe, a federally recognized tribe of Indigenous Virginians. Other ancestors on his paternal side descended from Africans, some from Nigeria and the Congo region who were enslaved in Virginia and North Carolina for generations. His maternal side descends from a variety of European immigrant groups, including the Irish who fled to America during the Great Hunger in the 1800s. The modern-day descendants of these three groups, including Avery’s family, navigate their legacies at an individual and community level.