The JXN Project

One of the overarching goals of The JXN Project is to make Abraham Peyton Skipwith a household name and landing "The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming" on the front page of The Washington Post is a major moment in support of that mission. This is a very proud moment for our city and on a more personal note, for our parents as two sisters. #A1 #themoonsisters #thejxnproject

The JXN Project would like to thank Jackie DiBartolomeo of Richmond BizSense for spotlighting our recent grant award from the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and Dominion Energy as part of the Commonwealth History Fund! #thejxnproject

The JXN Project has two very important updates! First, the project is excited to announce that its been selected as part of this year’s cohort for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture’s 2025 Commonwealth History Fund Grant, which is presented by Dominion Energy. This grant will be used to help source the historic furnishings within the interior of the Skipwith-Roper Cottage — which will complement the “Abraham Peyton Skipwith: House to Highway” curation within the historic site in partnership with the Library of Virginia, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Riggs-Ward. Second, earlier today, the project was officially cleared to begin construction on the Skipwith-Roper Cottage and JXN Haus by the City of Richmond — so now, weather dependent, with permit in hand, construction is scheduled to begin during the week of March 17. On behalf of the project, we would like to thank Baskervill, Team Henry, Timmons Group, Habitat for Humanity, Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Mellon Foundation, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, Weissberg Foundation, The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, If: A Foundation for Radical Possibility, Greater Washington and Richmond, Community Foundation of Greater Richmond, Richmond Memorial Foundation, Meyer Foundation, Nike Jordan Brand, Airbnb — as well every single supporter for donating to help us reach our $5.68M for the first phase of construction for the “Skipwith-Roper Homecoming.” Moreover, the project would like to give a special thank you to the Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Black Caucus, and City of Richmond, especially the Departments of Planning and Development Review, Public Works, Public Utilities, as well as the Richmond City Council, Mayor Avula, and Former Mayor Levar Stoney, for your support in reaching this hard worked for milestone — and especially when navigating the inclement weather, water crisis, and mayoral transition. The road to grand opening weekend from April 17-19, 2026 for America and Virginia 250 just got a little closer! #thejxnproject

The JXN Project is excited to share that we received the 2025 Airbnb Community Fund Grant — joining a cohort of 160+ global non-profit organizations that collectively received over $8.5M in funding. On behalf of the project, we would like to thank Airbnb and the Airbnb Host Community for the support — while extending a special note of gratitude to Katelyn Ameda for recommending us for this opportunity. To learn more, visit https://lnkd.in/dXbahyZh. #thejxnproject #airbnbcommunitygrant

The JXN Project is pleased to announce that it will be presenting alongside the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia at the College of William and Mary’s 15th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium — “Undefeated: Black Resilience through Resistance, Creativity, and Cooperation” — to be held from March 21-22, 2025 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Please visit https://lnkd.in/gXQ4wFBp to register to attend our panel, either in-person or virtually, titled “Jackson Ward: The Birthplace of Black Entrepreneurship,” which will convene on Friday, March 21, 2025 from 2:45pm to 4:00pm. See you there! #thejxnproject

The JXN Project is excited to announce that Ordinance Numbers 2024-300 and 2024-307 passed at the final meeting of the year with the Richmond City Council. With the state grant and special use permit now in hand for “The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming”, the project is prepared to begin construction of the Skipwith-Roper Cottage and JXN Haus in January 2025. We would like to thank Mayor Stoney, Council Members Robertson, Jordan and Lambert alongside the full Richmond City Council for your stewardship, as well as Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Commonwealth of Virginia, City of Richmond, Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, and Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority — alongside everyone who has provided a gift, grant, and|or gesture of support of the project. Also, we would like to thank our construction team, to include Baskervill, Team Henry, Habitat for Humanity, and Timmons Group for lending their time and talents to this homecoming initiative. Now, please stay tuned for the opening date for our exhibition with the Library of Virginia titled “Abraham Peyton Skipwith: From The House To The Highway” and documentary with PBS NPR VPM titled “Declarations of Independence” — and save the date for the grand opening of the Skipwith-Roper Cottage and JXN Haus during America and Virginia 250 from April 17-19, 2026!#thejxnproject

On behalf of The JXN Project, we want to extend gratitude to our beloved hometown for your support of “The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming”, which made last weekend’s groundbreaking ceremony a beautifully historic day in Jackson Ward. As we move forward in the JXN journey, with nearly $4M of our $5.68M fundraising goal raised for the first phase of our capital campaign, please visit at thejxnproject.org. A special thank you goes to the stakeholders and small businesses who helped to make it a success to include but not limited to Mayor Levar Stoney, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Senator Lamont Bagby, Delegates Rae Cousins and Mike Jones, Councilmembers Ellen Robertson and Katherine Jordan, Dominion Energy President Ed Baine, and Maggie Walker Community Land Trust President Erica Sims, as well as Baskervill’s Burt Pinnock, Team Henry’s Devon Henry and Patrick Lindsey, Habitat for Humanity’s Lauren Marshall and Matt Waring, Timmons Group’s Amelia Wehunt and Chris Johnson, Library of Virginia’s Sarah Falls, Catherine Fitzgerald, Barbara Batson and Dr. Greg Kimball, and Historic Jackson Ward Association and Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church’s Pastor Donte McCutchen — alongside Richardson Curatorial Services, Afrikana Ambassadors, City of Richmond, Richmond Police Department, Opus Media Group, Legacy Band, Taste Good Authentic Jamaican Flavor, The Sweet Stop, Metta Bestat, Ayasha Sledge, Jay Paige, Vernon Pope, Stacey Holman, Theron Edwards, PBS NPR VPM, Capital Waste, RVA Tuk Tuk, Triangle Lawn Services, Meraki Communications Group, and Metro Chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta and National Council of Negro Women. We look forward to your continued support on the road to America and Virginia 250 — and we hope that you’ve marked your calendars for the ribbon cutting activities as part of the grand opening for the Skipwith-Roper Cottage and JXN Haus during the ward’s anniversary week from April 17 to 19, 2026! [?? | Metta Bastet] #thejxnproject

As part of its partnership with the Library of Virginia, JXN is proud to announce that its received $40K in grant funding from two local philanthropic organizations, Virginia Humanities and Community Foundation for Greater Richmond, as supplemental support to the previously announced NEH grant for the exhibition called “Abraham Peyton Skipwith: From The House to the Highway” — which is scheduled to open next summer at the library! #thejxnproject