Alexandria, Virginia, has a rich history, but part of it has been overlooked. The city’s first Black Family Reunion sought photos and artifacts to enhance library archives.
Many people remain unaware of the rich history engulfing a key Virginia city, and efforts are underway to change that.
According to The Washington Post, officials in Alexandria learned less than 30 years ago that a gas station was constructed on a sizable burial ground for Black Americans who escaped slavery during the Civil War. Parts of the city’s history are known — a church that George Washington and Robert E. Lee frequented is still open for worship, for example — but visitors may walk through Black neighborhoods in the city’s bustling downtown and waterfront without ever learning their names.
While the city has archives full of documents dating back to the 1800s, it neglects to tell the stories of Black Alexandrians who have long been the subject of legal discrimination. Rose Dawson, director of the Alexandria Library, decided about six months ago that she would change that.
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