Cville2jtown—the Charlottesville to Jamestown pilgrimage

Almost 400 years after the first enslaved Africans took their first steps in an English colony, a group of Virginians took their own steps to remember the captives and what they endured. Sponsored by the Charlottesville Clergy Collective, clerics from various denominations and their supporters began a trek that would eventually take them to Jamestown where “20 and odd” Africans arrived in 1619.

The Charlottesville to Jamestown – Cville2jtown - pilgrimage was the local clergy’s response to the racially-tinged violence that took place in Charlottesville in August 2017 that left one woman dead and scores injured.

Monticello was the first stop on a week-long journey that began October 6 when participants mounted a trail from downtown Charlottesville to the little mountain where Thomas Jefferson enslaved 400 men, women and children.

Monticello staff worked closely with the Clergy Collective for more than a year to help make Cville2jtown happen. The day was another milestone as we continue to build ties with the
Charlottesville community. The following video tells the story best.