The Alexandria Black History Museum traces African American life in Alexandria from the 1700s to the present, covering the slave trade, the Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, and the civil rights movement. Alexandria was one of the largest slave-trading centers in the United States, and the museum handles this history with directness and care.
The permanent collection includes documents, photographs, and artefacts related to the freedom seeker community, the contributions of Black Alexandrians to the city's history, and the legal and social struggles for equality. The adjoining African American Heritage Park commemorates the lives of 19th-century free Black residents. The museum is a necessary counterpart to the colonial grandeur of Old Town — together they form a more complete picture of what Alexandria actually was.