This Much-Needed Trip of Historical Truth Was the Experience of a Lifetime (2024)

Alexandria, Virginia, had one of the country’s largest slave trading operations. I visited the city to reconnect with my roots.

In the first half of the 17th century, European colonists settled on the previously occupied lands of what’s known today as Alexandria, Virginia. Fast-forward to 1654, when the settlers acquired a land patent for the entire area totaling 700 acres, later expanding its territory. During the development of Alexandria’s colonial-style infrastructure, enslavement was prevalent, with plantations built along Northern Virginia’s Potomac River.

Travelers wanting to revisit America’s dark past can take a step back in time in Alexandria, one of the country’s largest slave trading operations. Though the now warm, welcoming community manages to lessen the blow of Alexandria’s painful history, its remnants can still be felt in every corner of the city. Historical landmarks and museums invite visitors to envision the events that unfolded in this region, while the welcoming local population provides extensive insights to help contextualize representations of history.

Alexandria neighbors Washington, D.C., which can be reached by car or boat using the Potomac water taxi system, giving its passengers a picturesque view of the Potomac River and its scenic surroundings. When seeking a deeper understanding of Black American history dating back to the Colonial era, try putting yourself into the shoes of the victims of the transatlantic slave trade, who were taken into captivity from their homelands, as well as the domestically enslaved individuals who were already here–as many Indigenous peoples were enslaved with Africans. I took a recent trip to Alexandria to learn more about my heritage while squeezing in some self-care to heal wounds of generational trauma.

The Freedom House Museum

While the landmark Freedom House Museum has repurposed what used to be a slave pen that trafficked enslaved Black men, women, and children in the thousands, the building’s transformation into a widely-known Black history museum speaks to the power of turning pain into purpose.

Touring the museum was a moving experience, with three floors of artifacts and artwork that paint a vivid picture of Alexandria’s racist history. Stories of both enslaved and free Blacks were on display throughout the museum, retelling the struggles and pain they faced at the hands of their oppressors.

1315 Duke Street, the exhibit on the first floor, narrates the experiences of individuals who were trafficked to the area from Chesapeake Bay and sent to the Deep South to perform forced labor. This exhibit was the brainchild of D.C.-based design firm Howard+Revis Design, whose work can also be seen at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The second floor, an exhibition titled “Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality,” takes you on a journey through four centuries of Black American history in Alexandria. It spotlights many foundational Black Alexandrians whose pioneering efforts played a role in shaping American culture. The exhibit not only tells of their significant accomplishments but also of the struggles that they faced to be seen as sovereign individuals.

On the third floor is an art exhibit that features the works of Black American painters and sculptors called “Before the Spirits Are Swept Away.” One of the exhibit’s most notable pieces is a beautiful bronze sculpture of the Edmonson Sisters, daughters of a free Black man and enslaved woman who were born into slavery.

The Roadmap to Freedom on the African American Heritage Trail

While strolling through Alexandria’s famous Waterfront, I ran into yet another path of Black history enlightenment: the African American Heritage Trail. The Waterfront is home to two of the interconnecting trail routes found throughout Alexandria. Trail signs allow pedestrians to explore facts about Black Alexandrian history on foot, from the 1939 Alexandria Library sit-in–one of the first sit-ins in America, in which Black Alexandrians who were refused public library cards read silently on the floor–to the origins of the historic black Alexandria neighborhood, the Berg.

D.C.’s National Museum Of African American History

In 2012, the Smithsonian officially broke ground for the highly anticipated National Museum of African American History and Culture. Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., it opened to the public in 2016 after decades of planning and development. The vast museum exclusively educates visitors on Black American history and culture, featuring various exhibitions that recount our past, present, and future. It was the top highlight of my recent trip–and only a 15-minute car ride from Alexandria.

Alexandria’s Black-Owned and Inspired Restaurants

Alexandria’s diverse food scene gives visitors endless dining options and variety, lined with local eateries along the Waterfront and beyond. One of the city’s not-so-hidden gems is Josephine, a delectable brasserie and bar that pays homage to iconic Black American dancer Josephine Baker; the French cuisine features favorites like ratatouille.

Local surf and turf lovers frequent the upscale Black-owned restaurant, 1799 Prime Steak & Seafood, which was founded by Jay Quander of the Quander family—one of the oldest documented families brought to the Americas from Africa.

Then there’s the honorable mention of casual dining spot Vola’s Dockside Grill, a go-to when you’re in the mood for island fresh grub with arms-length views of the waterfront.

Ancestral Wellness and Wisdom

Take a short drive from Alexandria’s Market Square, a central hub that hosts the Old Town area’s weekly farmer’s market, and you’ll land at one of the area’s most peaceful, safe spaces to find your zen. PIES Fitness Yoga Studio is a BIPOC-owned wellness center that’s located near one of the city’s oldest African American churches—Alfred Street Baptist Church. The studio is also behind the former L’Ouverture Hospital, which was built in 1864 to provide care to so-called “colored” troops.

After arriving at the studio in my gym clothes, I was met with a warm welcome from the studio’s founder, Alexandria Native Marsha D. Banks-Harold. It was here that I had my first sound bath experience. The class was packed with regulars who come several times each month, which wasn’t surprising because the founder makes you feel at home. Banks-Harold also trains and mentors other BIPOC yoga teachers through her yoga school, doing her part to increase access to yoga in underserved communities.

The trauma-sensitive sound bath was specifically designed for survivors navigating the effects of racial, workplace, and other traumas. It was something like an “out-of-body” experience that felt as if my ancestors were calling me higher spiritually. I left the building in a state of serenity and with a clear conscience.