Photo by Adedayo Dayo for Visit Alexandria
Freedom House Museum
The Freedom House Museum, located at 1315 Duke St., is now once again open.
The building was once occupied by a number of slave trading firms that trafficked tens of thousands of people of African descent through Alexandria between 1828 to 1861.
Previous interpretations of the site, when it was owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League between 1997-2019, focused primarily on the building’s use by the slave trading firm Franklin & Armfield. The City of Alexandria purchased the building in 2020.
The building closed during the pandemic and underwent renovations, reopening with three new exhibits. The first floor focuses on the history of 1315 Duke St. from its use as a site of slave trafficking through the present, using archaeological artifacts and personal accounts of trafficked individuals. Visitors are greeted with a wall of names and ages of some of these enslaved men, women and children.
The second floor houses an exhibit on loan from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture called “Determined: The 400-year Struggle for Black Equality.” It traces black history in Virginia using the stories of individuals from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619 through the continued struggle for black equality that exists today. A companion exhibit called “Determined in Alexandria” highlights black Alexandrians and features portraits of these individuals painted by students from NOVA Community College.
“Organizing the exhibition I tried to focus on some key individuals who help personalize the story, help showcase black agency yet also reflect broader historical phenomena. As people go through the panels they meet these historical characters,” said Karen Sherry, Ph.D. exhibition curator.
On the third floor is an art exhibit called “Before the Spirits are Swept Away” and showcases the moving artwork of late artist Sherry Zvares Sanabria who painted a series of African American sites of slavery, worship and education. There is also a bronze model of the Edmonson Sisters statue by Erik Blome on display. The art exhibit provides a place for visitors to absorb and reflect on the somber history they have learned on the previous floors and the work that still needs to be done.
“We need spaces for these kinds of conversations,” said Michele Longo, with the Office of Historic Alexandria.
Freedom House Museum is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays and Mondays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 per adult, $3 per child (ages 5-12), and free for City of Alexandria residents. Due to high demand and limited capacity, the museum recommends that visitors reserve tickets in advance. Find out more at https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedomHouse.
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Anna Frame, photographer
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Arthur C. Dawkins poses with his portrait
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Shirley Lee, the world's first certified African American female scuba diver
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