Since March, Viola Baskerville and the dedicated team behind Save Community Hospital, which includes well known community activist and organizer Farid Alan Schintzius, have been tirelessly working to save the historic Richmond Community Hospital. Their efforts have included organizing rallies and engaging the media to highlight the importance of preserving this crucial part of Richmond’s Black history. The next major event, the Community History Fair, will take place on Sunday, July 7th, from 3 PM to 6 PM at the old Richmond Community Hospital, 1209 Overbrook Road on Richmond’s Northside.

For those who may not be aware, the Richmond Community Hospital, established in 1907 to serve Black patients, is currently threatened with demolition by Virginia Union University (VUU) as part of their campus redesign. This potential loss has deeply concerned the community, given the hospital’s vital role in providing healthcare to Richmond’s minority populations during a time when they were often denied such services elsewhere. The building has unfortunately fallen into neglect since the 1990s following a partnership with Bon Secours and subsequent defunding.

Viola Baskerville, a former Virginia House Delegate, has stressed the critical need for community involvement and education about the hospital’s historical significance while criticizing the developers and VUU for not consulting with the community or historical groups about the building’s future. She highlights the importance of preserving the hospital as a cultural landmark and advocates for its adaptive reuse.

The Save Richmond Community Hospital group encourages community members to pressure local government, VUU’s leadership, and the developers to reconsider the demolition plans. The upcoming rally aims to capture and share the hospital’s history, emphasizing the need for its preservation. More information and community support can be found on the Save Community Hospital Facebook page.

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Event Details: Community History Fair

• Date and Time: Sunday, July 7, 2024, from 3 PM to 6 PM
• Location: Old Richmond Community Hospital, 1209 Overbrook Road, Richmond, VA

This event commemorates the 90th anniversary of the hospital’s relocation to its current site, where it provided expanded healthcare services for Richmond’s African-American population. The fair will celebrate the visionaries who launched this historic institution, beginning with Dr. Sarah Garland Boyd Jones in 1902. The hospital moved to the Overbrook Road location in 1932 and opened to the public on July 4, 1934. Although it is listed on Preservation Virginia’s 2024 List of Virginia’s Most Endangered sites, the building faces potential demolition by VUU.

The Community History Fair will feature:

• A pop-up museum exhibit
• Vintage automobiles
• An ice cream vendor
• Toy giveaways reflective of the 1930s

The event is open to the public and aims to engage and inform attendees about the importance of preserving this critical piece of Richmond’s history and the need for its rehabilitation and reuse.

For more information, contact Viola O. Baskerville at (804) 690-5279 or via email at SaveRCHosp@gmail.com.