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First Person Charlottesville

Let’s tell the story of our community together. Here’s how you can share your perspective with Charlottesville Tomorrow, Vinegar Hill Magazine and In My Humble Opinion.

Philip Cobbs says the story of his ancestor, Sarah Garland Boyd Jones, the first African American woman doctor in Virginia, is part of the history of his family’s land that needs to be preserved. He told this story for First Person Charlottesville. Kori Price/Charlottesville Tomorrow

We are looking for your stories.

These can be told from your own personal point of view, or as reported pieces sharing community members’ perspectives.

Please keep in mind that we are not seeking pieces that are purely your opinion. This doesn’t mean it can’t include your perspective, rather we want the focus to be your experiences or the experiences of the people you are writing about.

We want these stories to reach many people and be as strong as they can be. They will be published by Charlottesville Inclusive Media, a partnership between Charlottesville Tomorrow, Vinegar Hill Magazine and In My Humble Opinion.

Not sure if your idea fits? Tell us about it and we’ll get back to you! We do our best to respond to pitches within two weeks.

If we are the right people to help with your story, we will pay you competitively for this important work. Essays and photographs are paid at a rate of $200 to $600 depending on the complexity of the story. Keep in mind that we go through a process of editing and fact-checking to make your stories as strong as possible.

Find examples of stories our community has told here.

If you have questions or ideas to improve how First Person Charlottesville works, please feel free to reach out to Charles Lewis, Sarad Davenport and Angilee Shah at Charlottesville Inclusive Media at news [at] cvilleinclusivemedia.com.

Want to get occasional updates from the Charlottesville Inclusive Media project? Sign up below.

First Person Charlottesville

Thanks for sharing your story. We hope that the questions we ask here will help you to focus your idea and give us a chance to find out if we're the right group to help you see it through. Not sure if your idea fits? Do your best to tell us about it and we’ll get back to you! We do our best to respond to pitches within two weeks.

Or write in the best way to contact you if it's not by email.

Ok, great! Now let's learn about your story!

Please provide short answers, just a couple of sentences, to each of the following questions.
Is this a time sensitive story, meaning it needs to be told within a month?(Required)
In what format(s) would you like to tell your story? Check all that apply.(Required)
Please share the link or, if you don't have one, paste text below.

We want to build this program to include many people.

These questions are optional, but help us ensure that we are reaching the breadth of our community. Please be assured that the information you provide will never be attributed to individuals nor used for anything other than to help us serve you better. The answers you give here have no bearing on whether or not we accept your pitch. Please fill in anything you are comfortable sharing.
Does your story involve any of the following issues? Check all that apply.
We want to know your race and ethnicity to compare to Census data in our area. This will help us make sure we live up to our name, Charlottesville Inclusive Media.
Here, we use Census terminology, though we know that there are many terms we use to identify ourselves. Please check all that apply as best you can.