Overview
Gary L. Flowers provides 20-stop walking tours of Historic Jackson Ward in the downtown section of his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Tours include historic educational, economic, religious, and social institutions that inspired the name, “Black Wall Street, and “The Harlem of the South”, and served as an early model of Black Capitalism in the United States of America.Mr. Flowers work
Group Tours only (minimum of 10 people)
All Tours cover 1.5 miles, and are $20 per person
Payments for Tours must be booked in advance, via Doretha Winkler (804.614.6208), at IAmMeetingsandEvents.com, or with checks made payable to “Gary Flowers”.
Gary Flowers is an eighth-generation Virginian, and a fourth-generation Jackson Ward resident, dating back to his great-grandparents, who moved to The Ward in the 1890’s. Both his maternal grandparents and parents were educated in public schools within Jackson Ward. Mr. Flowers’ Father, the late Stafford A. Flowers, worked on 2nd Street in Jackson Ward as one of the first regional directors for the National Business League (an outgrowth of Booker T. Washington’s Negro Business League of 1900). Mr. Flowers’ late Mother Dear, Mrs. Ella Lee Fountain Flowers was employed as a financial assistant at the Southern Aid Life Insurance Company, upon graduation from the Virginia State College for Negroes in 1943.
Gary Flowers is highly active in Historic Jackson Ward, currently, serving on the faculty of the Valentine Museum tourism department, and is a certified Ambassador Guide by Richmond Region Tourism’s I am Tourism Ambassador Academy. Mr. Flowers also works closely with The Jackson Project (Info@thejxnproject.com), and is on the executive board of The Theban Beneficial Club (established in 1902), and a life-long member of the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. He also is a past Board Member of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Mr. Flowers is the host of The Gary Flowers Show on WREJ, 101.3 FM in Richmond, Virginia (RejoiceRichmond.com) . In 2014, Mr. Flowers was selected as the 2014 Leader-in-Residence at the University of Richmond’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies, where he served as a lecturer on leadership in liberal arts classes of economics, history, literature, philosophy, politics, and religion. From 2007 to 2014 he served as Executive Director and CEO of the Black Leadership Forum—an alliance of 51 national African American organizations in the United States, representing 15 million black people, based in Washington, DC.
Mr. Flowers also served as vice president and national field director for Reverend Jesse L. Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago, IL (1997 to 2007); a Teaching Fellow of a course on Coalition Politics at the Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, MA (2004); a public policy analyst at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, DC (1993-1997); a Special Assistant to Virginia Governor Lawrence Douglas Wilder (1990-1993); and Executive Director of the Old Dominion Bar Association in the Commonwealth of Virginia (1988-1989). Mr. Flowers was trained at the historic law firm of Hill, Tucker & Marsh in Richmond, Virginia from 1985- 1990.
Tour Scheduling - Doretha Winckler – 804.614.6208
Doretha@IAMMeetingsAndEvents.com
Reviews
A JOURNEY THROUGH RICHMOND'S RICH HISTORY
Richmond, Virginia, is a city steeped in history, where every street corner whispers accounts of the past. But to truly understand the depth of this city's narrative, one must venture beyond the surface. That's where the Walk the Ward Tour with Gary Flowers comes in—a transformative experience that educates and inspires.
Exploring and Celebrating the uplifting Black stories from Richmond’s painful past!
This is a city where statues of Confederate leaders once cast long shadows until they were finally removed in 2020 and 2021. Those effigies were callous reminders that Richmond was second only to New Orleans in the slave trade, and the men honored in bronze and placed on pedestals had fought a war to keep people enslaved.
Taking Steps To Revive A Historic District!
Strolling the streets of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward with a bounce in his step and a snazzy bowtie, Gary Flowers greets almost everyone, waving at drivers and (pre-pandemic) giving bear hugs to bank employees leaving work for the day. Flowers, who hosts a Richmond radio show, loves meeting people, which is partly why he leads “Walking the Ward” tours. “My purpose in life is to connect with people. I feel like an ambassador,” he said.
Jackson Ward, Recalling its Black Cultural Roots!
Gary Flowers walking tour of Jackson Ward spans the decades. This fourth generation torch bearer, salutes the African American achievements here between 1888 and 1940, when it was called Black Wall Street and The Harlem of The South!
Back To The Future in Richmond, Virginia
In 1737, English planter William Byrd II climbed a hill in central Virginia and marveled at the scene before him. The wide, blue-green James River curved gently southwest into thick woodlands, reminding him of a view he had seen near London as a child, looking out toward the royal village called Richmond upon Thames. He decided to form a settlement in the area, naming it Richmond.
