Norfolk, Virginia

Partner Organizations:
Norfolk Public Library
Office of the Norfolk City Historian, Norfolk Historical Society

Additional Partners:
Tidewater Community College
Ocean View Station Museum
MacArthur Memorial Museum & Archives
Historic Houses of the Chrysler Museum of Art
City of Norfolk Office of Communications
Old Dominion University's Institute for Learning in Retirement

Community Profile:
With a population of over 230,000, Norfolk, Virginia is the second largest city in the state, and one of the most important seaports on the East coast. It is home to the Norfolk Naval Base, the largest naval base in the world. Norfolk is also one of the few cities in Virginia with an increase in population over the last five years. Previously known as a retirement community for military families, Norfolk, is attracting immigrants and new-economy industries such as biotechnology.

The city is a hub of educational and cultural activities. Norfolk boasts several higher education institutions including: Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Virginia Wesleyan College and Tidewater Community College. Among the city's cultural institutions, the Chrysler Museum of Art, an Age in America partner organization, has been recognized by the New York Times as the best museum in the state.

The city is currently undergoing a commercial and residential renewal, including a renovated main library branch. The city's population of 232,000 is increasingly diverse: 46.2% are White, 44.9% are Black, and Hispanic and Asian population are both close to 4%. Some 10.1% of residents are over the age of 65, and approximately 19% live in poverty. Additionally, 8.9% of residents speak a language other than English at home.

Local Project:
The Norfolk Public Library, the Office of the Norfolk City Historian, the Norfolk Historical Society and the Chrysler Museum of Art Museum plan a community-wide dialogue about the roles of older adults in Norfolk. The goal is to confirm “the relevance of older adults in today's world, where the wisdom and experience for which they were once honored would now appear to have been supplanted by modern technological resources,” such as the Internet and other means of near-instantaneous accessibility. Norfolk's partner's will engage this modern problem by addressing the general theme of “Aging in the Community.” The partners will draw on their photographic and archival collections as well as images, artifacts and oral accounts solicited from individuals and through local organizations.

Public programming will include exhibits with related discussions, an interactive web site, workshops with multi-generational participation and other visual presentations. Through the project the partners will reach out to residents of retirement communities, churches and senior centers and will pair teens with older adults to share stories and experiences. This oral history project, tentatively titled “Senior Voices” will feed into a lectures series and other intergenerational programming. Additional partners, including the Ocean View Station Museum, Tidewater Community College and the Old Dominion University's Institute for Learning in Retirement will be invited to participate in specific phases of the project. The library and museum partners will coordinate Age in America with the City of Norfolk Department of Neighborhoods and Leisure Services' annual Conference on Aging.

While Norfolk's Age in America project is a two year initiative, it is Norfolk's intent to develop programming that is organic and sustainable so that the dialogue about older adults in the Norfolk community may continue beyond the life of the project, as the role of the older adult in the community continues to evolve.