Name: Memorializing the Enslaved of Arlington: What’s It All About?
Start: 2026-02-17T10:00:00-05:00
Location: The Woman's Club of Arlington Virginia

$Memorializing the Enslaved of Arlington: What\u2019s It All About?$

Memorializing the Enslaved of Arlington project leaders, Jessica Kaplan (Arlington Historical Society) and Scott Taylor (Director of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington) will discuss the project, its goals, history, successes, and challenges.
Hosted by the Woman’s Club of Arlington as part of their celebration of Black History Month.
Since the late 1700s, African Americans made important contributions to the development of Arlington County. Until recently, histories of Arlington often excluded or misrepresented their stories.
Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington (MEA), a project sponsored by the Arlington Historical Society and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington, brings our county’s African American history to light. Research into local records uncovers the brutal truth of enslavement in Arlington and the human cost for all involved. Most importantly, it reveals the fortitude and resilience of the local enslaved community.
MEA honors the lives and contributions of Arlington’s once enslaved people by placing memorial plaques throughout the county at sites of enslavement.
The Arlington Historical Society is proud to partner with the Woman's Club of Arlington and the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington to help celebrate Black History Month and as part of the commemorations of the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
If your organization would like to host a talk on this or other local history topic, please email the Arlington Historical Society @[email protected]