Northern Virginia Branch of ASALH

08/29/2026

We are excited to highlight an important opportunity for increased visibility and engagement at the 111th Annual ASALH Conference in Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia).

While the conference includes registration-based sessions, several key experiences are free and open to the public, intentionally designed to welcome community members, students, educators, and cultural enthusiasts into the heart of ASALH programming.

These open-access events significantly expand foot traffic and engagement across the conference footprint, especially within the Exhibit Hall, where exhibitors have direct access to a broad and diverse audience.

https://asalh.org/conference/free-and-open-to-the-public/

08/28/2026

Check out this page for hotel registration and updates: https://asalh.org/conference/location-travel/

More at: https://asalh.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Hotels-Close-to-Norfolk-Waterside-Marriott-.pdf

08/28/2026

08/24/2026

In order to simplify joining ASALH and our branch, we've created this menu of membership options for new members and renewing members. Of course, you can still join via the ASALH Join page. This is an added convenience.

Northern Virginia Branch MembershipJoin the Northern Virginia Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and help us…

08/22/2026

On August 1, members of the Northern Virginia Branch of ASALH visited Woodlawn and the Pope-Leighey House with the Greenwood Seneca Foundation. Our visit was designed as more than a tour: We were invited to listen critically, identify gaps, and consider how Woodlawn can more fully interpret African American history and engage Black visitors.

The afternoon moved quickly, and we left knowing that we had only scratched the surface.

Woodlawn is often introduced as the home of Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis and Lawrence Lewis, designed by U.S. Capitol architect William Thornton. But the mansion was built largely through enslaved labor, and more than 90 people were enslaved during the Lewis family’s ownership.

In 1802, the Lewises inherited 37 people from the Custis estate. The historical record now allows us to recover some of their names: Hanson, an enslaved chef; Dolcey and Sukey, skilled seamstresses; and Peter, who fled in 1803 and may have successfully claimed his freedom. By 1839, the Lewis family had sent or sold 48 enslaved people to Louisiana, including Sukey and her children.

Woodlawn’s history did not end with slavery. Beginning in 1846, Quaker abolitionists attempted to establish a free-labor agricultural community alongside free Black farmers. Those communities built farms, schools, churches, and other institutions—only to face later displacement as the federal government expanded what became Fort Belvoir.

Woodlawn has begun the important work of broadening its interpretation. The challenge now is to slow the story down, name the people, follow the families, listen to descendants, and connect the mansion to the communities that surrounded it.

Read and explore:

SPLC article:
https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/virginia-plantations-story-focuses-on-formerly-enslaved-people/

Woodlawn’s history of slavery and resistance:
https://www.woodlawnpopeleighey.org/woodlawn-plantation

Current “Friends Gather Here” exhibition:
https://www.woodlawnpopeleighey.org/exhibits/2026/6/27/friends-gather-here-a-legacy-of-two-communities-at-woodlawn

Virginia Department of Historic Resources:
https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/029-0056/

Library of Congress photographs and measured drawings:
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/va0439/

08/20/2026

You and your family are invited to join us for the Lucasville School Back-to-School Ice Cream Social:

Saturday, September 19, 2026
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
Lucasville School Historic Site
10516 Godwin Drive
Manassas, VA 20110

This free community event brings together history, education, and service. Lucasville School operated from 1885 to 1926 and preserves the story of post–Civil War African American education in Prince William County.

Our community partners will provide:

Ice cream, books and school supplies provided by the Dale City–Prince William County Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction and Jo's Creamery while supplies last.

Please come out, bring your children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends, and help us welcome local families. Your presence will demonstrate the Northern Virginia Branch’s commitment to preserving African American history while supporting the education and future of our young people.

Please also share the attached flyer through your personal, church, civic, and community networks.

We look forward to seeing you at Lucasville School.

08/18/2026

111th ANNUAL CONFERENCE AUTHOR'S BOOK SIGNING!

FREE EVENT TO ATTEND!

Join us for an evening of discovery, dialogue, and connection at ASALH's Author's Book Signing. Meet acclaimed authors, historians, scholars, and storytellers, explore new works on Black history and culture, and have your books signed by the people bringing these stories to life. Whether you're a lifelong reader, researcher, educator, or simply curious, this event offers a unique opportunity to engage with the ideas and voices shaping our understanding of the Black experience.

Thursday, September 24, 2026

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. EST

08/17/2026

East Arlington—including the subdivision known as Queen City and often remembered collectively by that name—was a close-knit Black community in Arlington, Virginia. The 1940 census recorded 903 people living in 218 households across East Arlington. The community included homes, churches, Black-owned businesses, transit connections, and a resident-supported fire department. Queen City’s founders included descendants of people who had lived in Freedman’s Village, the federally administered community established on the Arlington estate in 1863 for formerly enslaved and self-emancipated African Americans.

In February 1942, the federal government used eminent domain to acquire East Arlington for the roads, parking areas, utilities, and transportation network serving the new Pentagon complex. Initial notices gave property owners less than a month to vacate, although intervention by Eleanor Roosevelt and the House Military Affairs Committee reportedly secured additional time and temporary housing. Because wartime shortages and racial segregation severely restricted available housing, many displaced families had little practical alternative but to move into Army-established trailer villages in Green Valley and Johnson’s Hill. Others moved in with relatives, relocated elsewhere, or built homes in other Black communities.

Sources:
https://library.arlingtonva.us/2018/01/31/from-freedmans-village-to-queen-city-one-communitys-evolution/

https://library.arlingtonva.us/2011/10/26/memories-of-queen-city/

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppss.01180/

08/14/2026

Let's join our sister branch and Preservation Virginia for this special event.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18DVPUq3Rj/

ASALH Richmond Branch members, mark your calendars!

Join us on Thursday, August 27 at 6:00 PM at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture for Preservation Virginia’s Voices Remembered: History Speaks in the Present Tense.

The evening will feature a film screening and panel discussion highlighting Black history across Virginia.

The event is free and open to the public. We hope to see our ASALH members there supporting this important program!

08/11/2026

Explore the latest issue of the Black History Bulletin!

Published by ASALH, the Black History Bulletin connects peer-reviewed scholarship with practical resources for teaching and learning about African American history, the African Diaspora, and Africa.

Educators, students, historians, and lifelong learners are invited to discover new perspectives and inspire meaningful conversations in classrooms and communities.

Read. Reflect. Discuss. Share—and help Black history continue to educate and inspire future generations.

🔗 https://asalh.org/the-black-history-bulletin/