Events

Stories of Fredom, Hope, Sacrifice, Leadership, and Resilience. Award-winning actress, playwright, and Virginia Humanities Rosel Schewel Fellow Morgan Avery McCoy Harris will present “Bricks Without Straw: Virginia’s Finest,” at 3 p.m. on Monday, July 6, in the University of Lynchburg’s Sydnor Performance Hall. Admission is free, but attendees must preregister here. Harris’s performance brings to life the stories of 10 extraordinary Virginia women whose leadership, courage, and vision transformed their communities and helped shape the Commonwealth. Through dramatic storytelling, historical research, and multimedia elements, Harris portrays women whose impact spans education, civil rights, business, literature, music, espionage, and public service. Those featured include Martha Ann Fields, Dr. Mary T. Christian, Elizabeth Keckley, Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary Jane Richards, Maggie Lena Walker, Barbara Johns, Anne Spencer, Undine Smith Moore, and educator, philanthropist, and University of Lynchburg alumna Rosel Schewel ’71 MEd, ’83 EdS. The production holds special significance for Lynchburg audiences through its focus on Schewel and Spencer, a Harlem Renaissance poet, activist, and cultural leader who helped place Lynchburg on the national literary map. Taking place immediately following the Independence Day holiday, the performance invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of freedom through the stories of women who expanded opportunity, challenged barriers, and created pathways for others. “As we celebrate our nation’s independence, this production shines a light on women whose lives remind us that freedom is not only something we inherit, but something we help extend to others,” Harris said. “Their stories are Virginia stories, and I am honored to share them in a community that is connected to so many of them.” “Bricks Without Straw: Virginia’s Finest” is the culminating public presentation of Harris’s year-long fellowship with Virginia Humanities. The project combines archival research, interviews with descendants and historians, live performance, a developing digital archive, and educational resources designed to preserve and share the stories of influential Virginia women. “We are grateful to the University of Lynchburg for creating a space where community members can gather to celebrate history, storytelling, and the remarkable women who helped shape Virginia,” Harris said. The performance will be followed by a reception and community conversation.