JAMESTOWN—A crowd of about 250 well-dressed guests celebrated Virginia’s African roots last night at the Jamestown Settlement history museum.

The event was a formal “Preview Gala” to usher in the opening tomorrow of the museum’s 30,000-square-foot gallery, and to preview an expanded focus on the role of Africans in early Virginia and since.

Sponsored by the African American Forum, the gala was an official “signature event” in the commemoration of Jamestown’s 400th anniversary, in May, as the first permanent English settlement in America.

The African American Forum was created to involve communities, schools, churches, businesses, organizations and citizens across the state in planning the commemoration.

The first Africans arrived in Virginia in 1619, and recent research shows they were a group of about 20 slaves, including individuals brought by the Portuguese from Angola.

The new and expanded gallery focuses on the interaction between European, African and Indian cultures as the important forces that shaped the state’s colonial history.

Following from that focus, the gallery offers information about African and Angolan history, includes a diorama of an 18th-century Angolan village and a number of Angolan artifacts.

A. Bruce Williams, a Norfolk businessman working with the African American Forum, said he was thrilled by the new exhibits.

Fittingly, the guest list included Martinho Bachi Codo, the Angolan embassy’s charge d’affaires, and Delfina Nascimento, the embassy’s second secretary.

The detailed look at Angolan culture and history will make people think of black Americans in a new way, Williams said.

In addition to a preview of the galleries, the gala included a heritage lecture by Cassandra Newby-Alexander; music by the Jae Sinnett Trio, a jazz group; and period music in the galleries.

Newby-Alexander, a Norfolk State University history professor, gave a historical overview of African-American history focusing on the accomplishments of black Americans, their struggles in a racist society and their enduring contributions to American culture.

“Whatever else the true American is,“ she said, “he is also somehow black.“

Newby-Alexander is co-author of “Black America Series: Portsmouth,“ the first book to examine the history of African-Americans in Portsmouth.

The crowd included U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-3rd, and Virginia Secretary of Administration Viola O. Baskerville.

Proceeds from the $100-per-person gala will go toward the purchase of African artifacts for the museum’s collection and toward scholarships for students in African-American or museum studies.

Andrew Petkofsky is a staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Contact him at or (757) 229-1512.