This Sunday, Feb. 22, marks 66 years since a group of 34 Virginia Union University (VUU) students were arrested during a sit-in protest in downtown Richmond.

The history

Following Martin Luther King Jr.'s visits to VUU and the impactful 1960 Greensboro Sit-In, more than 200 VUU students organized similar protests across downtown Richmond.

Multiple days of marches and sit-ins went without incident. It wasn’t until a few dozen protesters sat down and asked for service at the famous "whites-only" Richmond Room — the lunch counter at the then-segregated Thalhimers department store — that police got involved.

After refusing to leave, 34 VUU students were arrested, charged with trespassing, and fined $20 each, (equivalent to ~$220 today). This moment is often remembered as one of the first mass arrests of the Civil Rights Movement. Thalhimers and other Richmond businesses were integrated by the end of that year.

Protests and picketing ensued on Broad Street after the arrests of the Richmond 34. | Photo via Thalhimers Protest Photograph Collection, The Valentine

The Richmond 34 appealed their cases to the VA + US Supreme Court (Raymond B. Randolph et al. v. Virginia), where the convictions were effectively undone. These students' actions were a key part of the movement leading to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Find tributes across the city

You can find several historical markers honoring the Richmond 34, two installed at the former Thalhimers site on 6th and Broad. Within Dominion Energy Center — the occupant of the former Thalhimers building — you can find an honorary mural, first unveiled in 2024 by RPAA.

Several of the Richmond 34 attended the Historical Marker ceremony in 2016. | Photo via VUU Flickr

You also might be familiar with Andre Shank's "Richmond 34 Legacy" mural above the entrance of the Diamond stadium. The mural was formally dedicated during the Flying Squirrel’s 2021 legacy campaign, which was organized with the help of one of the Richmond 34, Elizabeth Johnson Rice.

The #34 has been retired from Squirrels jerseys — the only other retirement stands as Jackie Robinson’s #42. However, the number is emblazoned on all of their uniforms for the Richmond 34 Legacy Weekend series.

If you want to dive into a more thorough history, we suggest planning a visit or requesting a tour with Black History Museum or The Valentine.