Expanding Freedom Media Kit
Download approved assets for email, web, and social.
Main Street Station • Richmond, VA
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Exhibit Photos
Approved signature photos of Expanding Freedom.
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Exhibit Video
Approved supplemental video footage for promotional use and editorial coverage.
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Headshots
Approved headshots for promotional use and editorial coverage.
Official Language
Shockoe Institute Mission
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.
Boilerplate Description
The Shockoe Institute is a national organization headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, whose mission is to reveal the enduring impact of American racial slavery and to use the lessons of that history to improve our civic life. The Institute is an independent, nonprofit entity that serves as a place for people to learn, reflect and act to create solutions designed to improve our civic life. Learn more at www.shockoeinstitute.org.
What We Do
Expanding Freedom
The Shockoe Institute’s exhibit immerses visitors in the history of America's struggle to expand human freedom. Visitors will learn about the origins and growth of racial slavery in America and reflect on Richmond’s rise as an epicenter in the national trade of enslaved people. At the conclusion of the exhibit, visitors have an opportunity to act on what they’ve learned and consider how to put this history to work to improve our civic life. https://www.shockoeinstitute.org/exhibit
The Lab
An interactive learning space where visitors reflect, engage with digital tools, and take part in curated experiences, discussion, and institute-led programs.
Our Library
A digital storytelling library featuring research, narratives, visuals, and educational resources accessible from anywhere: https://library.shockoeinstitute.org/story
Shockoe Institute Presents
Programs, performances, and thought-provoking experiences that bring historians, educators, policymakers, and creatives into conversation. https://www.shockoeinstitute.org/events
Expanding Freedom Unveiling
On April 9, 2026, the Shockoe Institute officially premiered its inaugural permanent exhibit, Expanding Freedom, within Richmond’s historic Main Street Station. Attendees from as far away as Miami and Chicago were on-hand as Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Richmond City Mayor Danny Avula marked the official opening this morning by offering remarks and participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Following the ribbon cutting, Governor Spanberger joined more than 60 Virginia high school students as they used digital interactive learning tools within the Institute’s Lab. The 10,000 square-foot immersive experience boldly confronts the history of American slavery and its enduring impact on the country’s economic and social life.
Located in the heart of Shockoe Bottom—once the epicenter of the domestic slave trade in the Upper South —Expanding Freedom traces the evolution and enduring impact of racial slavery in America. After an interactive museum-like experience, visitors are invited into “The Lab,” a space designed to encourage participants to use the lessons of the past to solve current challenges.
Quotes
"We designed Expanding Freedom and the Lab as a place of learning, reflection, and, most importantly, action. Our goal is to ‘put the lessons of our history to work’ by providing people, especially young people, opportunities to activate their citizenship by creating real-world solutions designed to improve our civic life." - Marland Buckner, President and CEO, Shockoe Institute
“It is important to me as governor, as a Virginian, and frankly as a mother of three kids that we are honest about our full history. Places like the Shockoe Institute are vital to this conversation. The stories that are told here have too often been lost or overlooked.” - Abigail Spanberger, Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia
“We find ourselves in a place where the future of a healthy multiracial democracy is being challenged in ways that I never could have imagined... but this gives me hope.” - Danny Avula, Mayor, City of Richmond
