Descendants of enslaved to lead Juneteenth celebration at Reynolds Homestead

When Kimble Reynolds Jr. walks the grounds of the Reynolds Homestead in Patrick County, he steps where his ancestors once toiled and where their stories still echo.

A distinguished Hokie alumnus and community leader, Reynolds traces his lineage to Anthony and Kitty Reynolds, two of the more than 100 people enslaved at the former Rock Spring Plantation. Today, the site is a Virginia Tech center for community engagement and historical reflection.

As the chair of the Rock Spring Descendants Committee, Reynolds isn’t just retracing family history — he’s helping to reshape how it’s remembered. He and other descendants are working to ensure their ancestors’ stories are placed at the center of the homestead’s evolving narrative.

“There’s so much work that’s yet to be done,” Reynolds said. “The people who were enslaved here made a very significant contribution to this community, this state, and this country. Our committee is working to learn more about them and hopefully pass it on to the next generation.”

On June 19, during a communitywide Juneteenth celebration that is free and open to the public, Reynolds and other descendants will return to the homestead to honor those lives and legacies, marking a powerful moment of remembrance, resilience, and reclamation.

A new chapter

The collaboration between Virginia Tech and the descendant community marks a significant shift in how the Reynolds Homestead approaches its complex history. Rather than speaking on behalf of the enslaved community, the university is working in partnership with their descendants to center their voices and experiences.

“This effort is rooted in the principles of community-engaged scholarship, where knowledge is co-created and driven by those with lived experience,” said Julie Walters Steele, director of the Reynolds Homestead, part of Outreach and International Affairs. “The descendants committee is not just an advisory body — it is the voice steering how the homestead acknowledges its past and envisions its future.”

The Reynolds Homestead, gifted to Virginia Tech by the Reynolds family in 1970, is part forest research center, part museum, and part community gathering place. The original 1843 plantation house — the birthplace of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds and A.D. Reynolds, whose son founded Reynolds Metals — has been restored and is open for tours each Sunday from April through October. It stands beside a Community Engagement Center that hosts cultural and educational programming year-round.

Visitors can explore other historic structures, including the kitchen house where enslaved cooks lived and prepared meals, a granary for storing harvests, an icehouse, a creamery, and the original Rock Spring.

On the property, two cemeteries reveal contrasting legacies: One is an ornate family plot surrounded by wrought iron fencing, where members of the Reynolds family — including former Virginia Lt. Gov. J. Sargeant Reynolds — are buried. The other is a modest, forested cemetery where the enslaved were laid to rest. It was at this quiet grove that the Rock Spring Descendants Committee first gathered in 2023 to reflect and begin planning how best to honor those lives.

Since then, the group has broadened its mission to guide interpretation efforts, shape educational programming, and host commemorative events — including Juneteenth — that recognize the enduring impact of the enslaved community.

Preserving stories, honoring ancestors

One of the committee’s key initiatives is an oral history project aimed at preserving stories passed down through generations.

“It’s important for us to collect these oral histories because they help preserve the stories that were never written down,” said Kenneth Reynolds, a descendant of Ida Penn Reynolds, who was enslaved at Rock Spring. “They show how our families survived, how they built new lives after emancipation, and how we’re still connected today. Sharing these stories helps us honor our ancestors and make sure their voices are finally heard.”

Working with Jessica Taylor, associate professor in the Department of History, committee members learned oral history interview techniques and best practices. During the Juneteenth celebration, descendants will be invited to record short stories of their own, adding their voices to a growing archive that honors the legacy and resilience of those connected to the site.

“As a land-grant university, Virginia Tech has a responsibility to support communities in telling their own histories,” Taylor said. “By sharing oral history methods with the descendants, we’re helping preserve stories that fill in the gaps left by the historical record.”

Celebrating freedom

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It marks the day — June 19, 1865 — when the last enslaved people in Texas learned they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

“Juneteenth is another way to share African American history with the next generation,” Kimble Reynolds said. “If we don’t keep these stories alive, who will? This is an opportunity to tell the story of the enslaved community at the Rock Spring Plantation and how their contributions touch all of us.”

In addition to oral history recordings, the Reynolds Homestead event will include remarks by Reynolds, a ceremony honoring the enslaved, food, hayrides to the Rock Spring and the enslaved cemetery, a genealogy gallery, a cakewalk demonstration, and children’s activities.

The celebration is part of a broader series of Juneteenth commemorations across Virginia Tech.

At Solitude in Blacksburg, a front porch panel discussion on the theme of citizenship will take place at 1 p.m. June 14, featuring faculty members Dan Thorp, Wayne Moore, Sam Cook, and Peter Wallenstein from the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

“We’re taking a slightly different approach this year by focusing on the idea of citizenship,” said Victoria Ferguson, program director at Solitude and presidential ambassador to Native nations. “Citizenship was a complicated and deeply impactful issue for those who were emancipated and for people of Native American ancestry. We want to create space for a thoughtful conversation about what citizenship meant historically — and what it continues to mean today.”

Giving back

For Kimble Reynolds, returning to the homestead is both personal and purposeful.

A two-time Hokie — he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing management in 1988 and a master’s degree in health and physical education in 1995 — Reynolds also holds a law degree and runs a private practice in Martinsville. He served on city council and as mayor, and he remains deeply engaged with the Virginia Tech community.

He was the first Black president of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and has served on the Pamplin Advisory Council and the Multicultural Alumni Advisory Board. For his ongoing contributions to the university and the community, he received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

Reynolds sees his work with the descendants committee as part of that service — and a way of walking in the footsteps of his great-great-grandparents.

“Their story isn’t only about labor, but also about relationships that were formed at the Rock Spring and the ripple effect that has made on history,” he said.

One of those ripple effects: Kitty Reynolds’ close ties with the Reynolds children led to Ex Parte Virginia, a landmark court case that helped pave the way for integration at the state and federal levels.

“Coming back here, I’m reminded that their lives mattered — not just in the past, but in how they still shape who we are today,” Reynolds said. “It’s an honor to stand on their shoulders and do my part to carry the story forward.”

If you go

The Reynolds Homestead Juneteenth celebration will be held from 4:30-7 p.m. on June 19. The event is free and open to the public.

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