FARMVILLE, Va., Oct. 13 -- Longwood University issued the following news release:
Every tree has a story to tell. For a certain magnolia near Longwood's campus, that tale stretches to mere decades after the end of the Civil War when a collection of the town's Black citizens were in the midst of driving the social, economic and political transformations of America's post-Emancipation era-both locally and statewide.
And much like the branches of the lore-steeped tree itself, the stories of those local heroes-which include elected state representatives William D. Evans and James William D. (J.W.D.) Bland, and members of Farmville's historically prominent Bland and Evans families-have spread and weaved together over the years to form a canopy...