On July 4, 1776, representatives from America’s Thirteen Colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence to free themselves from British rule. Lesser known is the Declaration of Dependence signed by Loyalists to the crown.

Penned in response to the Declaration of Independence, the New York Loyalist Petition of November 28, 1776, had 547 signatories. One signer was New York’s Rev. John Wickham Sr., father to the John Wickham who would become a prominent Richmond attorney and enslaver; the latter Wickham fought for the British during the Revolutionary War before earning a law degree at William and Mary and moving to the River City.

The Wickhams’ story is one of many highlighted in “Dissent! Liberty & Loyalty in Early Richmond,” a new exhibition at the Valentine. Presented to correspond with the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, “Dissent!” explores how Virginians challenged America’s dominant political and social systems during the early decades of the United States.

“We planned this exhibition to coincide with 2026 and the 250th, but dissent has been here since people were here,” explains Christina Vida, the Valentine’s curator of general collections. “We have always been a community that leaned in to having those difficult conversations.”

Running up to the revolution, most landowners were Loyalists. The crown also had fans who were Scottish merchants and enslaved people; some of the latter were promised freedom in exchange for serving the British. Locally, pacifist Quakers refused to swear oaths of loyalty to the state or pay taxes to support the war.

“This is a major area for patriots — think Patrick Henry, think John Marshall — but there are quite a few folks who were Loyalists or Quakers who didn’t support the war,” Vida says.

Wickham, whose Court End house is now part of the Valentine, was able to achieve high social standing in Richmond even after fighting for the British.

“We wanted to highlight the fact that he is a Loyalist, is in the British Army during the American Revolution, and then is still able to make a name for himself here in Richmond after the war, even though he wasn’t a Patriot,” says Vida of the man most famous for successfully defending former Vice President Aaron Burr on treason charges.

Beyond the war, the exhibition highlights the stories of abolitionists, free Black Richmonders and enslaved people who opposed the status quo between the 1770s and 1830s. Gabriel and Nat Turner, two Virginians who rebelled against being enslaved, feature prominently in the exhibition, as does abolitionist Robert Pleasants. In Virginia there was vigorous debate over slavery, especially after Nat Turner’s Rebellion.

The exhibition also highlights lesser-known stories, such as that of Rachael, an enslaved 16-year-old girl who was able to read and write. Rachael used these skills to forge papers for herself and her family. They used these passes to board a ship at Rocketts Landing and sail away to freedom in December 1814.

Vida is partial to the story of Israel, a man enslaved by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall; Israel emancipated himself three times over the course of his life.

“He was not giving up,” Vida says. “He was really consistent in his pursuit of freedom.”

As contemporary portraits were never made or haven’t survived for many of the people depicted in the exhibition, the Valentine created 28 AI-generated portraits with Google Gemini in partnership with local graphic designer Emily Park. Vida says the portraiture is an effort to give equal visual representation in the exhibition.

“We just wanted to use this tool in order to provide the same visual storytelling capabilities that many white enslavers from Central Virginia had for hundreds of years,” Vida says. “We wanted to give voices to some new and different people.”

Vida understands that the use of AI in a museum exhibit could spark some dissent of its own.

“We are very aware of the contentiousness of AI,” Vida says, adding that guests are asked to take a survey at the end of the exhibition to express their thoughts on its usage. “It is one of the reasons why we have framed this experience as an experiment. We want folks to come down here, learn about these individuals, but also give us feedback.”

Though the exhibition uses an AI tool, Vida says it was still a very human endeavor, and that Park had to fix many of the images to ensure they were suitable for the exhibition.

“AI could not have done this show, from the research standpoint, from the graphic design standpoint, from the installation standpoint,” Vida says. “This was still a very human-centric show.”

“Dissent! Liberty & Loyalty in Early Richmond” is on exhibition through Jan 31, 2027, at The Valentine, 1015 E. Clay St. For more information visit thevalentine.org or call 804-649-0711.