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Hidden History with Brian Bullock

Filmmaker Brian Bullock hosts this digital short featuring not-so-well-known Virginia locales and uncovering the remarkable hidden history found there. Presented by VPM.

Research Methods for Uncovering African American Genealogy

Brian Bullock takes a look at research methods for uncovering African American genealogy. Brian chats with Charlottesville filmmaker, Lorenzo Dickerson, about how researcher Sam Towler uncovered new information about his family history and even connected Dickerson with previously unknown relatives.

Virginia's Connection to Eggnog

Food traditions run deep during the holiday season. Ask any family and they’re likely to have recipes passed down through generations connecting them to an ancestral history. One such winter holiday tradition is eggnog. VPM’s Hidden History with Brian Bullock takes a look at Virginia’s connection to modern-day eggnog in a timely holiday special.

Virginia Farm That Was a Jewish Refuge During the Holocaust

What part did the Commonwealth play in the Holocaust? Jewish businessman William B. Thalhimer responded to the growing danger Jewish families experienced in Germany during the 1930s by creating a safe place for Jewish immigrants to build a new life working on a Virginia farm.

Martha Ann Fields

Explore the heroic story of Martha Ann Fields, an enslaved woman forced to be a laborer at Hanover Tavern before she, with six of her children and a grandchild, escaped almost 89 miles to freedom.

The Great Dismal Swamp

The Great Dismal Swamp, just outside of Suffolk Virginia, is full of surprises. Hidden History with Brian Bullock uncovers remarkable stories that lie in the murky waters of the ancient swamp and the way in which those stories are being preserved. The Great Dismal Swamp and the land surrounding it were home to the indigenous Nansemond people. The swamp spanned one million acre, and provided plentiful sustenance for the tribes that lived there. For enslaved Black people, the Great Dismal Swamp provided a means to escape bondage. It became part of the Underground Railroad path to freedom.

Church Hill Train Tunnel Collapse

On October 2, 1925 a train tunnel in Church Hill collapsed onto hundreds of workers. The train and at least two men are still buried under Jefferson Park. Learn about the hidden history of the Church Hill train tunnel collapse.

Articles

About

Filmmaker and documentarian Brian Bullock hosts this digital short featuring not-so-well-known Virginia locales and uncovering the remarkable hidden history found there.

From long-buried locomotives to swamps with deep roots in freedom, Brian chats with historians, residents, and even descendants of those who lived through some of the Commonwealth’s most remarkable stories – all while highlighting spectacular settings often passed by with little notice.

Discover Hidden History with Brian Bullock and explore new places with rich history in your own backyard. Presented by VPM.


Brian Bullock began his entertainment career as a SAG/AFTRA/AEA talent agent representing actors for film, television, theatre, voice-over, and print. His roster included actors from the New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Richmond areas and his agenting credits, among others, include films Ladder 49, Shadowboxer, and Minority Report and television programs The Wire and Hack. Brian has written, produced, and directed award winning film projects including the Virginia PBS documentary about college tennis champion Roland McDaniel (Bringing Home the Bacon: The Roland McDaniel Story). He served as Producer on the Smithsonian Channel/Story House Productions documentary, Escape to the Great Dismal Swamp.

Brian continues to stay close to his social services roots by producing documentary films addressing various community issues as well as African-American history awareness films.

Brian earned his BS degree from Virginia Union University and his MA in Producing for Film and Video from American University in Washington, DC.