About Alexandria
Alexandria Spotlight
African-American History
Alexandria's African American Heritage is quite varied; at one time Alexandria was home to one of the largest slave-trading businesses in the nation with Franklin, Armfield & Co. on Duke Street and now the City is governed by an African American Mayor William D. Euille.
During the Civil War Alexandria was a place of refuge when occupied by the Union Army. Schools were then built for African American children where they could learn and soon business opportunities opened up. The City is also where one of the first Civil Rights sit-ins was held in 1939 at the Alexandria Library.
Dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr Monument
On Sunday, October 16, 2011 the Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation dedicated a memorial in his honor in Washington, D.C. Built on the National Mall adjacent to the Roosevelt Memorial and in direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. The monument is designed to convey four fundamental and recurring themes in Dr. King's life: democracy, justice, hope, and love.
Alexandria's African American Historic Sites
Resources and Further Information
A Remarkable And Courageous Journey
Click for mapped listings
Alphabetical
Alexandria African-American Heritage Park
- Holland Lane between Duke St. & Eisenhower Ave.
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Phone: (703) 838-4356
- Visit Website
“Truths that Rise from the Roots Remembered” is the name of the bronze tree sculpture here that honors the contributions of African-Americans to the growth of Alexandria.
Alexandria Archaeology
- 105 N. Union Street
- #327
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Phone: (703) 746-4399
- Fax: -703
- Visit Website
Step right into the museum's laboratory where archaeologists reconstruct Alexandria's history, fragment by fragment. Tues.-Fri. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 1-5 p.m.
Alexandria Black History Museum
- 902 Wythe Street
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Phone: (703) 746-4356
- Fax: -703
- Visit Website
Originally the segregated library for Alexandria's African American residents, the museum documents the local and national history, culture and contributions of Black America. Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-4
Alexandria National Cemetery
- Wilkes & Payne sts.
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Phone: (703) 221-2183
- Visit Website
One of 12 sites created and dedicated by President Lincoln in 1862 to serve as military burial grounds. The cemetery holds some 3,500 graves of Civil War soldiers, including U.S. Colored Troops and
Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site
- 4301 W. Braddock Road
- Alexandria, VA 22304
- Phone: (703) 746-4848
- Fax: -703
- Visit Website
Fort Ward is the best preserved fort in the Defenses of Washington, the system of Union forts and batteries built to protect Washington, D.C. Fort Ward Museum interprets the site’s history, life
Freedmen's Cemetery
- 1001 S. Washington St.
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Visit Website
Between 1864 and 1869, Freedmen’s Cemetery served as the burial place for about 1,800 African Americans who fled to Union-occupied Alexandria to escape from bondage. After federal occupation of
Freedom House
- 1315 Duke Street
- Alexandria, VA 22314
- Phone: (703) 836-2858
- Visit Website
This building was once home to Franklin and Armfield, one of the largest dealers in the domestic slave trade, and enslaved people were held here and in an adjacent yard. During the Civil War, Union
Notable Alexandria Residents
The Edmonson sisters became figures of the anti-slavery movement after they tried to escape Alexandria and were caught. Their story sparked a national controversy as activists struggled to free them.
The founder of Alexandria's Apothecary Shop, Edward Stabler, was also a famous member of the anti-slavery movement. Stabler used his own money to buy slaves, then grant them freedom.
In the 1930's, famed Alexandria African American attorney Samuel W. Tucker was one of the architects of the Civil Rights Movement. Alexandria's Old Town district was established in 1946 as only the third historic district designated in the United States . Its remarkable concentration of historic buildings with a storied past create a rich backdrop for today's vibrant contemporary lifestyle.
Resources and Further Information:
- The Edmonson Sisters of Alexandria - These sisters became figures of the anti-slavery movement after they tried to escape Alexandria and were caught. Their story sparked a national controversy as activists struggled to free them.
- African American Historic Sites Self-guided Walking Tour - Includes history and stops at over 15 sites throughout Alexandria.
- A Remarkable And Courageous Journey - Downloadable PDF, A full-color guide to Alexandria's African American Heritage.
- Style and Identity: Black Alexandria in the 1970s - The popular exhibition of portraits by Horace Day, is now closed but catalogs and bookmarks are still available. These items may be purchased at the Alexandria Black History Museum, the Lyceum and the History Center and Museum Shop. Horace Day's portraits of African Americans in Alexandria captures a time when "Black is Beautiful" was the rallying cry for a new generation. Step back in time, and see Alexandria through the eyes of an artist witnessing this change and the emergence of a new Black culture.
Alexandria's African American history explifies the spectrum of black experience in the United States - from slavery to freedom, from freedom to equality, and from equality to integration. The award-winning "A Remarkable & Courageous Journey" tells the story of the tremendous courage and accomplishments of Alexandria's African Americans from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
Learn about Benjamin Banneker, who endured harsh conditions to help establish our nation's capital. Meet the Edmonsons, two enslaved sisters captured while making a daring run for freedom. Read about wounded United States Colored Troops who petitioned the Federal Government to allow black Civil War soldiers to be buried in the Soldier's Cemetery. Discover the five young black men who led a non-violent sit-in protest in Alexandria decades before the famous Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in.
Self-Guided Walking Tour Map:
View African American Historic Sites: Self-guided Tour in a larger map
Check out what other travelers say about Alexandria tourism on TripAdvisor.
© 2012 Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association
