Petersburg: Aird, McKenzie, Adams, Morrissey + Dance on Historian Richard Stewart (1943-2023)
PETERSBURG, VA — On Saturday, April 22 at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Petersburg funeral services were held for historian Richard Stewart.
Stewart died on April 13 at 79. He was the creator, owner and proprietor of the Pocahontas Island Black History Museum located at 224 Witten Street in Petersburg.
Black Virginia News spoke to former Delegate and current State Senate candidate Lashrecse Aird, State Senator Joe Morrissey, former State Senator Rosalyn Dance and current House of Delegates candidates Victor McKenzie and Kim Adams about Richard Stewart as they left his funeral.
THE HISTORY. Pocahontas Island is a historic neighborhood located in Petersburg, Virginia, USA, and is one of the oldest African American communities in America. The island is situated in the Appomattox River — a tributary of the James River.
The island was originally home to the Appomattoc Indians, and the famous Native American princess Pocahontas is believed to have visited the island. In the 1700s, the island became a thriving trade hub for tobacco and other goods, and it was primarily inhabited by free African Americans, who worked as boatmen, farmers, and artisans. During the Civil War, the island was occupied by Union troops using it as a base of operations. After the war, the island's economy suffered but a small community of African Americans remained on the island and worked to preserve its history and culture.
Preservationists rallied to designate Pocahontas Island as a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
“I met Richard store while I was still a student at Virginia State University. Before I knew about Petersburg, I knew Richard Stewart. What I learned from those early days is that to know and understand Petersburg, is to know Richard's story.
He was the heart and soul of everything that not only Petersburg represented, but that Pocahontas Island represented. He is the constant drumbeat of valuing everything that has occurred before us and how we can strengthen the the city the people and the lives of both Petersburg and Pocahontas Island moving forward.
He will be sorely missed. But we will now uplift him as he did so many of those that came before us,” said fmr. Del. Lashrecse Aird.
“Richard Stewart is exactly what Petersburg needed — a voice of the past the present and the future. Richard Stewart meant more to us than we will ever be able to articulate because everything he did for us he did from a place of love and we will be forever grateful for him,” Kim Adams told Black Virginia News. Adams is a candidate for the House of Delegates in House District 82.
“Richard was a great historian. He was a great family man. He was a great ambassador for Petersburg, but well he but what he will be remembered for his what his legacy will be, is his humility,” said State Senator Joe Morrissey.
“Richard was one of those people that I've met one year into service as the Mayor of the City of Petersburg and realized that that was greatness there and the way he was humble. He was strong, and he was an awesome advocate for the alum and from that his voice. The people came and they respected him. I can't think of anybody that did not respect him. And I've heard from reporters, The Washington Post all these people that said at some point that I had an opportunity to go to that island and have a conversation with Richard Stallman because he was a passion. That's where he started his life. that's where he ended his life peacefully on that out So yes, you got my card, pressing you,” said former State Senator Rosalyn Dance.
Washington Post reporter Greg Schneider, who wrote a profile of Richard Stewart in 2016, also attended his funeral on Saturday.
“I had a wonderful opportunity to have a conversation with him. I think his impact over not only Pocahontas island but the city of Petersburg, and honestly, Virginia is just immeasurable. As you can take a look and see around here and I hope that not only the city, but Virginia really honors and we do something around hold on Simon,” Victor McKenzie, said as he departed Tabernacle Baptist Church after Stewart’s funeral.
McKenzie is a candidate running for the House of Delegates in House District 82.
Stewart was buried at Wilkerson Memorial Cemetery.
Where all of the artifacts that Richard Stewart collected over the years will go is a question many are asking. The Blacksonian, formally known as National Museum of African American History and Culture, would be a logical location. Black Virginia News will be checking on where Stewart’s artifacts will be featured in the future.
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