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Lifestyles
leesburgtoday.com/lifestyles •
Black History Month In Loudoun SUNDAY, FEB. 15
Educa t io n
Author Reading: Kevin Dulany Grigsby 2 p.m., Purcellville Library, 220 E. Main St., Purcellville. Contact: library.loudoun.gov Grigsby reads from his book “From Loudoun to Glory.” Event is free and open to the public
Bu s in e s s
Author Reading: Deborah L. Parker 2 p.m., Gum Spring Library, 24600 Millstream Drive, Stone Ridge. Contact: library.loudoun.gov Author and motivational speaker Parker shares stories of her family’s history. Event is free and open to the public.
THURSDAY, FEB. 19
Sports
MLK Living History Performance 9-10:30 a.m., County Christian School, 21673 Beaumeade Circle, Suite 600, Ashburn. Contact: 703-729-5968 Bill Grimmette presents a living history portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
FRIDAY, FEB. 20 L I F EL if S eT sYtLyle E Ss
African American Heritage and Communities in Loudoun 7 p.m., Ashburn Library, 43316 Hay Road, Ashburn. Contact: library.loudoun.gov Thomas Balch Library’s Black History Committee gives a presentation on communities and life of African Americans in Loudoun after the Civil War. Event is free and open to the public.
C la ssi fi ed
Looking Blackward Noon-5 p.m., Purcellville Train Station, 200 N. 21st St., Purcellville. Contact: 540-454-0364 The Purcellville Arts Council hosts a celebration featuring Buffalo Soldier Re-enactor George Grady Sr. and historical items from the collection of Jay Johnson. Admission is free.
SATURDAY, FEB. 21 O pi nio n
Looking Blackward 10 a.m.-5 p.m., See Feb. 20 listing.
ww w. le es b u rg to d a y.co m • Thur sda y, F ebr ua r y 1 2, 2 015
‘William’s Adventure in Black History’ 2 p.m., Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Road, Leesburg. Contact: library.loudoun.gov Bright Star Theatre presents a trip through 400 years of black history. Event is free and open to the public.
SUNDAY, FEB. 22 Looking Blackward Noon-5 p.m., See Feb. 20 listing. Author Talk: Michael O’Brien 2 p.m., Thomas Balch Library, 208 W. Market St. Leesburg. Contact: 703-737-7195 O’Brien discusses his book “We Shall Not Be Moved” on the 1963 Woolworth’s sit-in in Jackson, MS. Program is free and open to the public.
FRIDAY, FEB. 27 History Talk: Carol Morris Dukes 10:45-11:45 a.m., Carver Center, 200 Willie Palmer Way, Purcellville. Contact: 571-258-3400 Dukes discusses the restoration of historic Grace Church in Lincoln.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28
Author Talk: Bob O’Connor
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2 p.m., Sterling Library, 120 Enterprise St., Sterling. Contact: library.loudoun.gov Historian and author O’Connor discusses the role of the Union Army’s black soldiers. Event is free and open to the public.
Jan Mercker
Local:
Loudoun Grown Expo
Vocal: Rachel Platten
Idol: David Cook
Grigsby’s Passion Gives Little Known History New Voice Jan Mercker
jmercker@leesburgtoday.com
F
ew people have Loudoun roots as rich and longstanding as Leesburg-based writer Kevin Grigsby. He chronicles his family history and some of the story of the county’s African American community in a pair of exhaustively researched books. Grigsby’s family memoir “Howardsville,” which details his ancestors’ history in southwestern Loudoun from slavery through the mid-20th century, led to his second book “From Loudoun to Glory” and exploration of African Americans from Loudoun who left home to enlist in the Union Army and fight for freedom. Grigsby will read from and sign copies of “From Loudoun to Leesburg Today/Danielle Nadler Glory” at the Purcellville Library Loudoun native Kevin Grigsby’s two books are pictured at Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, “From Loudoun Feb. 15 as part of Loudoun Public Library’s celebration of Black His- to Glory” and “Howardsville.” tory Month, which features talks by writers and historians at branches there. I always had a goal to one day write a in 1999, where he worked as a counselor for across the county through the end of February. book,” said Grigsby, who is also a social worker that country’s school system for more than a The Loudoun native recalls growing up in Loudoun. “I loved history and I loved to decade. in western Loudoun and Leesburg in the write. My parents promoted education and But the urge to write and explore his per1970s, when Leesburg was a small town and reading and I was lucky to have a couple teach- sonal history continued to surface during his time away from home. Throughout his childhood, Grigsby had visited his grandparents and other older relatives in the Howardsville community near Bluemont, founded after the Civil War and named for Grigsby’s paternal grandmother’s family, the Howards. “I loved that little community. Everyone to some degree was kind of connected,” Grigsby said. “I have so many wonderful memories of my dad and I being there and spending time with my grandmother. I used to love listening to the older folks tell stories. Something just captivated me about it.” He wanted to go beyond the stories that his older relatives and their neighbors told and delve into the more distant past. What started as a plan to put together a history pamphlet for the family’s annual reunion turned into a full-fledged book. In 2006, while living in Bermuda, he started the process of researching and writing “Howardsville,” which was published in 2008. Leesburg Today/File Photo His job in education allowed him to Writer Kevin Grisby is pictured at last year’s Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have A Dream” Celebration return to Virginia during summers, where he pored over land records at the Loudoun in Leesburg. County Courthouse, genealogical information at Leesburg’s Thomas Balch Library and U.S. Census data and conducted extensive where his parents, Delores and Earl Grigsby, ers who cultivated that.” interviews with older residents of Howardswere well known in the community. Grigsby But when it came to college (Grigsby ville, including his grandmother Alice Howard attended Loudoun Country Day School attended Delaware State University on a Grigsby, her siblings and other relatives and and then moved on to Leesburg-area public tennis scholarship), Grigsby opted to pursue neighbors. His grandmother’s cousin Alberta schools, graduating from Loudoun County a degree in social work. After graduation, he Reid, who grew up in the 1920s and ’30s, was a High School in 1991. An honors student went to work for the Graydon Manor mental particularly important source of information. and athlete, he had teachers who supported health facility near Leesburg, and then for the “Howardsville” explores the story of his interest in writing and history. Grigsby county’s Mental Health department, where he Jacob Howard, a slave born around 1835 who mentions several of his most influential high helped launch an preventative services out- was owned by several families related to the school teachers in the forewords of his books. reach program for young people. Looking for prominent Carter family, which owned the “The passion for writing has always been a change of pace, Grigsby moved to Bermuda Continued on Page 45