Henrico’s Black History 'Soul Bowl' highlights local trailblazers, emphasizes substance use prevention

Who was Virginia’s first Black governor? When did the University of Virginia admit its first Black student? Who founded Henrico’s Ziontown Community, a settlement built in the Tuckahoe District after the Civil War, that was home to generations of Black entrepreneurs? 

You may know icons from the Civil Rights movement – Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, John Lewis – but many people lack knowledge on the Black history closer to home, said Terrell Pollard, who helped put on this year’s Henrico Soul Bowl, an event for local students to learn more about Black history.

“When you talk about Black history, it’s a vast wealth of knowledge. So inevitably, there’s going to be some stuff that doesn’t get covered in school,” Pollard said. “The Civil Rights movement gets a lot of attention when it comes to Black History Month, as it should, but we just wanted to cover some more stuff and try to find facts that may not be widely known.”

At the Soul Bowl, hosted Feb. 22 at the Henrico Police Athletic League, students third grade and older played rounds of Jeopardy!-style trivia – with a $100 Amazon gift card as the main prize – and enjoyed an afternoon of music, dancing, food and community. Trivia questions focused on both local and national Black history, bringing up figures and topics often not taught in school.

Zierra Day, a 10th grader at Henrico High School who is passionate about history, said attending the event helped her learn more about Black history during World War II, like the Tuskegee Airmen and the women of “Six Triple Eight,” an all-black, all-female battalion who delivered mail for the U.S. Army.

“I loved learning about the Tuskegee Airmen and how impactful they were during World War II,” she said. “When we were in our World War II unit in American History, we didn’t even learn about them at all. I learned about them out of school. Also Six Triple Eight and how helpful they were during World War II, delivering mail to all the soldiers.”

Pollard also wanted the event to highlight local trailblazers, like Maggie L. Walker, Douglas Wilder, and Arthur Ashe – names that the students see on their school buildings and on street signs – but may not realize who they are or their impact.

“We want to focus on some of the local stuff, because we know that they’re going to hear that the town, the city, the street they live on – something’s going to be relevant to them,” he said.  “We also want them to hear about someone locally, and say, ‘Oh, that’s someone from here. That could be me also.’”

The trivia also included pop-culture figures that students are already familiar with as a way to illustrate how far-reaching Black history is and how it can be relevant to you no matter what your interests, Pollard said.

“It’s fun for them because they also weave in some pop culture, since there’s some history being made right now,” he said. "Some things that they’re aware of that they don’t realize is Black history.”

This year, the Soul Bowl event also focused on a new topic: substance use and how to prevent it in your community. Pollard, who leads Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition, a non-profit focused on youth substance use prevention, collaborated with Henrico Area Mental Health to include trivia and information on the impacts of substances like alcohol and marijuana, strategies to “say no” and avoid peer pressure, and mental health awareness.

“We know that our youth, all of them, have a gift that they’ll go on to share and develop. But we know that substance use is a hindrance to that,” Pollard said. “And there’s some great Black history which should be inspiring to any and everybody to do great things. And if using substances is going to make it more challenging, or if you are having mental health challenges, there are more healthy ways to navigate that.”

Substance use, especially vaping, has unfortunately been an issue for students at high schools like Henrico High, said Day, and even for some middle-schoolers. But the 10th grader said that by learning more about what you are putting into your body, students can become more aware of the dangers of substance use. 

“At Henrico [High] especially, people love vaping and everything, so I thought it would be nice to come here and learn more about it and how to prevent it, like prevent myself from getting pressured into it,” she said. 

She also wants more students at her school and other local schools to learn more about Black history, specifically the impact of Black women and legendary Black female figures.

“I feel like Black people as a whole, we have contributed a lot to society,” she said. “I would love to learn more about Black women history in school.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.