Welcome to Hampton Roads Branch of ASALH

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Hampton Roads Branch of ASALH, the Association for the Study of African Life and History, established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1915. We are a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote, research, interpret and disseminate accurate information about Black Life, History, and Culture to the global community. Our branch was chartered on September 27, 2012.

 

We have hosted numerous programs that fulfill ASALH’s mission and have sponsored a number of field trips as we seek to ensure that our history has an accurate narrative.

We have partnered with Hampton University, the Hampton History Museum, First Baptist Church East End, Newport News, VA, the Boys and Girls Clubs in the area, local community centers, and Phoebus High School in Hampton, VA. We go wherever we are asked to come and tell our story.

Not only that, but we hosted a community discussion on the movie, Harriet, in which three members of the movie’s cast were present and answered questions from the audience.

 
 

President Audrey Perry Williams, along with other Branch members, served on the City of Hampton’s 2019 Commission in preparation for the 400th Commemoration of the 1619 landing of the First Enslaved Africans in English- Occupied Territory at Point Comfort, (present-day, Fort Monroe in Hampton, VA).

We are committed to telling the accurate narrative of our history because we know if we do not tell it, it will not be told accurately.

Feel free to contact us if we can be of service to your organization. We are only a phone call away.

Take a Look
at our Partners

 

  • Daisy Wilder, Chaplain

    Daisy Wilder is a native of Marion S.C. but grew up in Newport News Va. A graduate of Pitt Community College with an Associates Degree in Nursing and worked as a Nurse for 45 years. Presently, she is a member of ASALH Hampton Roads Branch, African American Historical Society of Newport News, OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute at Hampton University, American Association of University Women.

  • Gladys Smiley Bell, Vice President

    Gladys Smiley Bell is currently the Vice-President of the ASAHL-HR Branch. She is the Peabody Librarian at Hampton University, Harvey Library.

  • Dr. Margaret Bernice Smith Bristow, Historian

    Dr. Bristow served as secretary under the organizing branch with the first president, the late Dr. Raymond Jordan. She enjoys being the historian for the HRB chapter. Presently, Dr. Bristow works as an advocator for all units and Departments of Education at HBCUs, including Dr. J R. Givens' Fugitive Pedagogy in their curriculum.

  • Audrey Perry Williams, President

    Audrey Landell Perry Williams is the president of the Hampton Roads Branch, ASALH and is a native of Newport News, VA. She attended Norfolk State University and received a BA in History and Social Sciences in 1967 and an MA from Hampton University in History Education in 1971.

  • Dr. Désirée Darden , Treasurer

    r. Désirée Darden was raised in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Her early years were in East End Newport News. She is a graduate of Hampton High School and Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her specialty areas are small animal emergency and wellness care. She is also an avid reader, gardener, and potter. Her award winning work has been on display at juried art shows and galleries throughout the northeast region.

  • Ladania V. Hawkins, Secretary