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Data brings hidden stories of self-emancipation to light in talk

Free Press staff report | 6/5/2025, 6 p.m.
Rows of names, dates and notations in dusty county records may seem like dry data points. But to researcher Tev’n …
Tev’n Powers discusses his “Fugitive Data Portraits” project, revealing stories of self emancipation from Virginia’s archival records during a virtual talk hosted by the Library of Virginia.

Rows of names, dates and notations in dusty county records may seem like dry data points. But to researcher Tev’n Powers, they reveal stories of resistance and freedom once left out of Virginia’s historical narrative.

On Wednesday, June 18, at noon, the Library of Virginia will host a free virtual talk featuring Powers, a Virginia Humanities fellow, software engineer and independent researcher. He will present findings from his project, “Fugitive Data Portraits: Self-Emancipation in Virginia,” which documents enslaved people who freed themselves during the Civil War.

Using archival records from across the state, Powers created a website featuring interactive data visualizations that highlight patterns in documented escapes from slavery. Contextualized with individual accounts, these “data portraits” offer a fuller picture of the lives and decisions of some of Virginia’s earliest freedom seekers — people often reduced to footnotes or left out of the historical record entirely.

The event is free, but registration is required at va-virginia.libcal.com. For more information, contact education@lva.virginia.gov.