thumb (1).jpg

The story of America is the story of the struggle to expand human freedom.

Watch Video

The Shockoe Institute is a national organization dedicated to revealing the evolution of American racial slavery, its enduring impact, and using the lessons of that history to improve our civic life. 

Learn. Reflect. Act.

The Shockoe Institute is unique.

It is not a museum, a think tank, or an arts organization. It is all of these, and more.

Above all, the Shockoe Institute is dedicated to learning, reflection, and action.
Please Join us.

Exhibition with a large mural of Elizabeth Key and historical scenes from the 1600s.

Expanding Freedom

A person standing in a circular exhibit space with walls displaying text and a map, and a pie chart projection on the wall.

The Lab

A screenshot of a webpage with a blue header and multiple tiles or sections, including titles like "The story of Expanding Freedom," "What is the Shockoe Institute?" and "Royal African Company Fort on the Gambia River."

Our Library

Modern building with large glass windows and doors, leafless trees in front, and a staircase inside visible through the glass

Shockoe Institute Presents

Shockoe Institute
and Jazz Generations Initiative New Orleans presents

Memory, Civic Healing and Public Imagination in Richmond and New Orleans

This symposium is designed to illuminate the historical connections between Richmond and New Orleans and create a space to imagine how to further facilitate creative reckoning and civic healing. 

OCTOBER 10, 2026 • New Orleans, LA

Make an
impact today

Support the Shockoe Institute by making a contribution today.

Donate Now
Exterior view of a modern building with large glass windows displaying the words "Expanding Freedom" and some other partially visible texts, with metal supports and stairs, and leafless trees in the foreground during evening hours.