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Alexandria black history museum pays homage to past and present

The city of Alexandria, Va., located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, has many African American historical sites to be seen by all.

One such site is the Alexandria’s Black History Museum. Audrey Davis is the director of Alexandria’s Black History Museum, and she has worked for the city of Alexandria for over 25 years. Davis noted that the museum would be celebrating their 35th anniversary this year.

Davis said, “Right now, we have a painting exhibit that will be up for another month called Before the Spirits are Swept Away."

Lilian Patterson is a retired curator for the museum and now a part-time employee.

 “Before the Spirits are Swept Away is an interesting exhibit. It shows some sites that have existed around the country that are now disappearing,” Patterson said.

The artist of the exhibit, Sherry Sanabria, was a local artist in Alexandria who passed away in 2014. Her family donated the paintings to the museum. The artwork represents different African American heritage sites across the United States.

Davis said, “We are very lucky in Alexandria that we have so much of the original fabric of history in tack.”

These are just a few of the historic African American sites in Alexandria to visit. The city has many more sites to be seen for tourist.

If you would like to visit the Alexandria’s Black History Museum located in Old Town Alexandria, the address is 902 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA. The museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm. The museum is closed on Sunday and Monday.