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Richmond, Virginia’s capital located on the James River, is a vibrant modern city with more than 400 years of rich history, and an especially fitting location for the 2015 ERIP conference. Central Virginia has been a place of convergence between indigenous, European, and African peoples since the early 17th century and in recent decades has attracted a growing and diverse Latino community. Virginia Commonwealth University’s campus is ideally located in this major metropolitan area combining modern cultural attractions with the charm and convenience of a small historic city.

The area was home to the Powhatan Confederacy, while nearby Jamestown was site of the first British settlement in the Americas, and disembarkation point for the first Africans to set foot in North America. Founded in 1737, Richmond quickly became one of the main centers of the plantation economy and transatlantic slavery, and later became the Confederate capital during much of the American Civil War. In the second half of the twentieth century, Central Virginia was the setting of many struggles of the Civil Rights movement. Today the area is home to several indigenous groups from Latin America, including Mayans from Guatemala and a community of more than one thousand Mixtecos from southern Mexico. 

About Virginia Commonwealth University

Since its founding in 1968, Virginia Commonwealth University has mirrored the evolving realities of Richmond and Central Virginia. With more than 30,000 students, VCU is a dynamic and lively multi-ethnic academic community, and the state’s premier urban, public research university. The campus is ideally located in a major metropolitan area combining modern cultural attractions with the charm and convenience of a small historic city -- known for its diverse architecture, first-class museums, historic sites, a nationally-recognized restaurant scene, unique cafés, a plethora of art galleries, and one of the nation’s largest river park systems. As part of its mission of scholarly, teaching, and community-outreach excellence, the VCU community looks forward to hosting the 2015 ERIP conference.