From a self-taught mathematician who mapped out the nation’s capital to abolitionist sisters who partnered with Frederick Douglass to the first Black athlete to play in the NBA, African American change makers have shaped the history of Alexandria, VA, and the United States.

Throughout the Month

Martin Luther King, Jr., Poster Exhibition
Admission: Free

Vola Lawson Library at Alexandria City Hall

301 King Street

See the entries from the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Poster Exhibition on view in the Lawson Lobby of City Hall. More than 120 drawings from Alexandria City Public School students are featured.

11^th

Black History Bus Tour

10 to 11:30 a.m. and 12 to 1:30 p.m.
Admission: $30 per person

Alexandria Black History Museum

902 Wythe Street
703-719-2150
manumissiontours.com

Ride with Manumission Tour Company on a 90-minute guided bus tour to visit various African American historic sites in Alexandria. You will hear stories of both enslaved and free African Americans prior to the Civil War as well as understand the stories behind some of Alexandria’s most well-known African American historic sites.

African Americans at Arlington National Cemetery
11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Admission: Free; registration preferred

Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library

717 Queen Street
703-746-1703
alexlibraryva.org

African Americans have been connected to Arlington National Cemetery since its origins as a plantation through the Freedman’s Village to the trailblazers of the Civil Rights Movement. Learn about the connection of African Americans to Arlington National Cemetery.

Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Library Events

Our Faces in Film Series

Admission: Free
Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library

5005 Duke Street
703-746-1702
alexlibraryva.org

February 3, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.: “Brown Sugar”

February 10, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.: “The Wiz”

February 14, from 6 to 7:45 p.m.: “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
February 17, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.: “Soul”
February 24, from 2 to 4:30 p.m.: “Harriet”

6^th

Storytime in the Reading Garden: Black Authors and Illustrators
11 to 11:30 a.m.
Admission: Free
Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library

5005 Duke Street
703-746-1702
alexlibraryva.org

Bring your little one to Beatley Central Library’s beautiful outdoor Reading Garden for stories, songs and movement. Children ages 0-5 are welcome with an adult. Please dress for the weather. Yoga mats are available to sit on. Stop by the Children’s Desk for a ticket for entry, available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sign up to receive cancellation notices in the event of inclement weather.

11^th

Story Time for Young Historians
11 a.m.
Admission: Free
History is around every corner in Alexandria. Learn about African American history and icons with stories and activities to inspire young, curious minds. Story Time with Young Historians is a monthly program, historically held at the Alexandria Black History Museum. Appropriate for children ages 5 to 8; masks are required.

23^rd

Black History Cooking Demonstration
February 23, 2023, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Admission: Free

The creator and chef of Black Folk Food will prepare a handful of dishes, share a brief history and demonstrate what makes the cuisine so amazing.

26^th

Black History Live with Culture Queen
February 26, 2023, from 2 to 3 p.m.
Admission: Free

Experience original and interactive music, movement and storytelling to help your royal children celebrate the kings and queens of African American History. With a renewed sense of confidence, cultural awareness and curiosity for exploring the world around them, kids will leave proudly exclaiming, “I like the me I see!” Note that this program will be held indoors. Please arrive early as space is limited.

Alexandria’s History Museum Events

The Lyceum

201 S. Washington Street
703-746-4994
shop.alexandriava.gov

13^th

Lecture: Exposing the Alexandria Slave Pen
7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Join City of Alexandria Archaeologist Dr. Benjamin Skolnik as he explores the visual history of 1315 Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Now the Freedom House Museum, the site was once the location where several 19th century dealers trafficked enslaved men, women and children to the Deep South.

16^th

Lecture + Short Film: Fort Reno Park
7 p.m.
Admission: Free
At Fort Reno Park, near Tenleytown, an important chapter in the history of Washington, D.C.’s Black community is barely visible to the modern-day visitor. Fort Reno was a bustling neighborhood in which men, women, and children lived, died, loved, worked, worshipped, and played.

18^th

Concert: Washington Revels Jubilee Voices 2023
2 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices ensemble is committed to the preservation of African American history and traditions—presenting songs and stories of struggle and perseverance, trials and triumphs, as expressed through a cappella music, drama and dance. Established in 2010, the group now performs regularly throughout the Washington, D.C, area, singing, sharing and learning the stories of the people in those communities.