ALEXANDRIA, VA–Join the Office of Historic Alexandria and the Northern Virginia Urban League (NVUL) for two Juneteenth events.
Juneteenth is an African American cultural celebration commemorating the emancipation of Texas slaves in 1865. In honor of this event, and the 10-year anniversary of the Freedom House Museum, special tours of the museum and special access to the building with local historians will be offered.
The two Juneteenth events will occur at Freedom House and the Alexandria Black History Museum (ABHM) on Saturday, June 16th from 1-5 pm. The final Juneteenth event will occur on Tuesday, June 19th at Freedom House and Shiloh Baptist Church from 6:00 -9:00 pm.
Meet the Dollhouse Creators and Tour the Freedom House with Local Historians
Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe St. from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Freedom House Museum, 1315 Duke St. from 1-5 p.m.
On Saturday, June 16th visit the Alexandria Black History Museum, and meet Sharon Frazier and Linwood Smith creators of the dollhouses in the museum’s new exhibition- Our Alexandria: dollhouses from the Sharon J. Frazier and Linwood M. Smith Dollhouse Collection.
Sharon Jones Frazier and Linwood M. Smith, both lifetime residents of Alexandria, began working together on their collection in 1994, combining their talents and drawing on their memories of places and people in Alexandria. Mrs. Frazier, a retired registered nurse, developed skills in miniaturization while Mr. Smith, a retired automotive mechanic, used his skills as a craftsman to construct dollhouses to scale. They first exhibited at the Alexandria Black History Museum in 2008.
This exhibition is composed of many works including the Carver Nursery School (pictured), Robert Robinson Library, and the Hayden Photography Studio. Several of the buildings including a barbershop and hair dressing salon, a medical building, an attorney’s office, and a florist, all patterned after actual businesses in the Parker-Gray community, a historically African-American neighborhood in Alexandria.
At the Freedom House Museum there will be tours, and local historians available to answer questions about the museum and the important slave history relating to the building. Participants will also get a chance to learn about a new Alexandria Civil War discovery and to see artifacts related to Freedom House and Alexandria’s Black History. Participants will also gain a greater understanding of Alexandria’s other African American sites.
Juneteenth Commemoration with Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black
1315 Duke St.
6 p.m.
On Tuesday, June 19th, the Northern Virginia Urban League and the Office of Historic Alexandria will host a special Juneteenth Commemoration, Reception andBlessing for Barry C. Black the Chaplain for the United States Senate. Black is the first African American Chaplain of the Senate and the longest serving Chaplin in Senate History.
On the fiftieth Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther Kling Jr., Chaplain Black’s talk will be on The Journey Beyond the Mountaintop. The event will start with a reception at 6 pm at the NVUL Headquarters at 1315 Duke Street and then participants will walk to Shiloh Baptist Church (1401 Jamieson Avenue ) for the keynote by Barry C. Black at 7:00 pm. For more information on this event please call 703.836.2858
Admission to Freedom House and the ABHM is waived for Juneteenth and special discounts in all OHA museum shops will be offered.
The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, e-mail [email protected], or call 703.746.4356, Virginia Relay 711.
