Alexandria Black History Museum

What an incredible hidden gem in Alexandria. I've lived here for 13 years and I just now learned about the museum thanks to my friend who grew up in the area. There is so much history surrounding us and I'm glad I got to learn more about the black history that makes Alexandria what it is today. History is often ugly and painful but it is part of who we are as a society and nobody has the right to erase it. So please go support this museum now more than ever considering the efforts of current leaders in DC to erase history.

Small, more localized history museum. $5 if a tourist to enter. Not as exciting and historical as the National African American History Museuem, but more local. Wish I could've seen more.

We learned a lot visiting this old library turned into a museum. I believe it is free for Alexandria residents and $3 for non residents.

Small museum but a lot of information, changing exhibits and displays, even a little video. Friendly staff also. It focuses on Alexandria history and, having visited many of the other museums and historial sites, most of it was already known to me. But there was still alot of new stuff to learn.

After three long years the Alexandria Black History Museum will reopen on March 2nd. The closure allowed for the museum to make some much needed repairs and provided the opportunity to prepare for a new exhibit Preserving Their Names: The Black Lives Matter Collection which brings to the forefront the tragic loss of Benjamin Thomas and Joseph McCoy who were both the victims of lynchings. The two jars on display are filled with the soil from the locations in the city were the young men were lynched. The new hours of the museum are Thursday-Friday from 11AM to 4PM, Saturday from 11AM-5PM and Sunday from 1PM-5PM. There also is $3 admission fee

It was a great experience, and the staff are great here. They have a thing when you walk in and you sit down to hear some information about black history or if you have any questions then they answer them. And they walk around with you to tell you about specific things that are in the museum. Learned a lot here!

Unfortunately, my visit to the Alexandria Black History Museum was not the greatest. -March 18, 2023 Based on visits to other local Black American Museums, the expectations were not met. The location was very small with limited items on display. There was no timeline of events reflective of those experiencing the hardships of being a Black American in Alexandria, Virginia. The use of terms like slavery or slaves was clearly absent from a majority of the displays and exhibit descriptions. Having to pay for a self-guided tour of a single room of displays and a short video presentation was quite disheartening. *The Howard County African American Culture Center in Columbia Maryland is similar in size, but was free of charge and was organized in a fashion to provide a clearer depiction of Black Americans during those time periods.

Friendly and knowledgeable front desk staff, who encourage any question that a visitor might have. Two solid exhibits that are worth reading through, and it seems they have a lot of programming throughout the year that one could take advantage of.