Black History Museum | ALXnow

Morning Notes

Published February 7, 2020 at 7:00AM

Rainy day in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Gusty Winds Expected Today — “The Flood Watch has been cancelled, but now the wind is the next possible hazard… The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday. Gusts of up to 50 mph are expected.” [ARLnow]

Architects Chosen for Potomac Yard Redevelopment — “Five architectural firms have been selected to design the nine buildings that are planned for the first phase of the North Potomac Yard overhaul, including the Virginia Tech campus. The use of multiple firms, similar to the choice made by the developers of The Wharf on D.C.’s Southwest waterfront, is meant to avoid having a neighborhood of buildings that look too alike.” [Washington Business Journal]

News

African American History Taking Center Stage in Alexandria in 2020

By James Cullum

Published January 27, 2020 at 9:35AM

Franklin and Armfield exhibit in the Freedom House museum (photo via Historic Alexandria/Facebook)

African American history is an integral part of Alexandria, and the port city will take an expanded look at the topic this year, according to the city’s tourism bureau.

Audrey Davis, executive director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, said that all African American interpretations will be expanded throughout multiple sites.

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published January 6, 2020 at 8:00AM | Updated January 6, 2020 at 11:21PM

The plaza at City Hall in Old Town (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Local Donut Shop Donating to Charity — “Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee of Alexandria, 804 N. Henry Street, is celebrating five years of yummy donuts, smiles and positive community engagement in January by donating five cents for every donut sold to ACT for Alexandria, the community foundation.” [Zebra]

History Museum Hosting Documentary Screening — “On Sunday, January 12, 2020, the Alexandria Black History Museum will premiere a free screening at 3 p.m. of the new documentary exploring Alexandria segregation. A very special collection of dollhouses depict Alexandria segregation in ‘Our Alexandria’ the new documentary by Emmy award-winning local filmmaker, Robin Hamilton.” [Zebra]

News

Committee Established to Research Lynchings in Alexandria’s History

By Vernon Miles

Published November 25, 2019 at 3:35PM

Memorial post for victims of Alexandria lynchings (photo via City of Alexandria)

Officially, there are two lynchings in Alexandria’s history, but a new investigation by the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) hopes to discover whether there were more that went unrecorded.

The two documented lynchings were of Joseph McCoy in 1897 and Benjamin Thomas in 1899. At a meeting of the Equal Justice Initiative on Nov. 16, Audrey Davis, director of Alexandria’s Black History Museum, said that one of the seven committees in EJI’s Alexandria branch is dedicated to conducting research to “find out if there were any other lynchings in Alexandria we’re not aware of.”

News

Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published October 23, 2019 at 8:00AM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Declares Climate Emergency — “On October 22, the Alexandria City Council unanimously adopted a resolution declaring a climate emergency, recognizing that climate change poses a grave threat to everyone in Alexandria and around the world.” [City of Alexandria]

City Council Passes Refugee Resolution — “The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a resolution to notify the federal government of its continued support for resettling refugees in Alexandria. The action was taken in response to Executive Order 13888, issued on September 26, which provides that the federal government ‘should resettle refugees only in those jurisdictions in which both the State and local governments have consented to receive refugees.'” [City of Alexandria]