­­For Immediate Release: June 13, 2022

Join the City of Alexandria for the grand opening of the Freedom House Museum to be held at the Shiloh Baptist Worship Center (1401 Jamieson Avenue) on Monday, June 20 at 6 p.m. As part of the City’s Juneteenth events, the grand opening marks the official debut of this National Historic Landmark in Alexandria and its notable story and transition. All are welcome.

Virginia State Delegate Delores McQuinn (70th District - Richmond), a critical leader for the Commonwealth’s African American initiatives, will provide the keynote address. The program will also feature remarks by Mayor Justin Wilson, Alexandria Black History Museum Director Audrey Davis, Former Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks, Northern Virginia Urban League Board Chair Letty Maxwell and City Poet Laureate Zeina Azzam.

A recitation of names on the earliest list of men, women, and children trafficked from Alexandria to New Orleans associated with 1315 Duke Street will end the event. 

The Freedom House Museum (1315 Duke Street) will also have extended hours on June 20, open from 1 to 5:30 p.m. The museum is regularly open to the public 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 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per adult, $3 per child (ages 5-12), and free for City of Alexandria residents. Due to high demand and limited capacity, it is highly recommended that guests reserve advance tickets online.  

The Freedom House Museum is what remains of a large complex dedicated to trafficking thousands of Black men, women, and children from 1828-1861. Slavery, race-based laws, and racial terror erased and diminished African American history and contributions from the national narrative. This Museum seeks to reframe white supremacist history.

Visit alexandriava.gov/FreedomHouse for more information.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact the Office of Communications & Public Information at newsroom@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3969.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact nicole.quinn@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.

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This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/go/3696.