Remembrance

Remembrance. Awareness, knowledge, and understanding of the past. , Cultural landscapes help reflect and shape our understanding of the past. These landscapes form the backdrop of our daily lives while giving us a sense of place and identity. They also evolve over time as society develops a fuller, more inclusive understanding and acceptance of our shared history., The Alexandria African American Heritage Park is an example of this transition. Nearly forgotten in the mid-20th century, the park now preserves a Black cemetery within its boundaries and honors local Black residents who have helped shape Alexandria's history. Memorialization keeps the past alive for future generations and provides a path toward discussion, reconciliation, and healing., Black Baptist Cemetery , Cemeteries and graveyards are places of remembrance and a reminder of those who came before. In the face of segregation, African American communities created their own sacred burial grounds. While some burial places for Black Americans have been lost to history, others have resurfaced later, like the one in this park., In 1885, the Silver Leaf Society of Alexandria created the Black Cemetery Association, a burial organization dedicated to providing fitting and respectful resting places for Black Alexandrians. Thomas H. Mann and his wife, Caroline, and other trustees of the Association purchased an acre near Hooffs Run for use as a burial ground, which they named the Black Baptist Cemetery. As Mann tended the cemetery, it also became known as the Thomas Mann Cemetery or Mann's Cemetery., Over time, neglect and desecration resulted in the loss of most of the cemetery's markers. The cemetery was rediscovered in the 1980s. Archaeological investigations documented more than 20 burials and exposed gravestones that had been enveloped by underbrush for many years. The Black Baptist Cemetery is now preserved within the African American Heritage Park., Alumni Association of Parker-Gray High School and Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage , Since the 1970s and 1980s, the Alumni Association and the Society have advocated for the preservation of the physical fabric that reflects Alexandria's Black history. The Alumni Association was formed to preserve the memory of Parker-Gray High School. Today, the high school is the location of the Charles Houston Recreation Center which houses the Alexandria African American Hall of Fame., The Society was formed to fight for the protection for the Alfred Street Baptist Church in partnership with the Alumni Association. Free and enslaved Black worshippers established the church in 1818 in The Bottom, an early free Black neighborhood. Following success with the church, the organizations advocated for the preservation of the Robert H. Robinson Library, which had been a segregated library that opened in 1940. The building now serves as part of the Alexandria Black History Museum., The Society also had a vision for the creation of the Alexandria African American Heritage Park which was dedicated in 1995. As Director of the African American History Division of the City of Alexandria, Audrey Davis said the Society has worked to make "citizens of Alexandria more aware of the role of African Americans in the building of this city."