The "Richmond 34"

On February 22, 1960, thirty-four Virginia Union University students staged a sit-in protest against segregation in the restaurants of Thalhimers department store in Richmond. Richmond city police arrested the students for trespassing, marking one of the first mass arrests of the civil rights movement in Virginia. Over time, Thalhimers integrated its facilities and other local businesses followed. The 1964 U.S. Civil Rights Act outlawed racial discrimination in schools, public spaces, and employment.

Richmond, Virginia · United States