The Arlington Black Heritage Museum, open Thursdays and Saturdays, highlights the experience of black Virginians and their “journey to freedom.”
In Arlington, Virginia, lies a cultural gem created by and committed to preserving the rich African-American history in the Commonwealth. Since the mid-’90s, Arlington’s Black Heritage Museum has occupied a meager space, located in the county’s Columbia Pike neighborhood.
Upon entering the cultural enclave, music by some of America’s most celebrated black artists, including Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, gently plays as visitors take a chronological tour, highlighting one people’s experience and their “journey to freedom.” “.
“This is not about slavery. It’s about overcoming,” said Scott Taylor, the museum’s president and director. “It is an extraordinary story. It’s about bravery. It’s about winning, and it all happened right here in Arlington.”
Taylor, who grew up in the area, acknowledges that the space is smaller than most museums, but acknowledges that it also creates a unique opportunity.
Scott Taylor, a native of Arlington, Virginia, is the president and director of the Arlington Black Heritage Museum. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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Virginia’s first integrated public schools. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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The children were among the first to join Virginia’s public schools. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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Sitting at the food counter in Arlington. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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The museum highlights Grammy Award-winning singer Roberta Flack. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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An exhibit at Arlington’s Black Heritage Museum. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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Freedman’s Village is a focal point of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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A replica of the Freedman’s Village show shows the layout of the temporary housing village. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
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Part of the museum is dedicated to the black firefighters who worked at the Hall’s Hill Fire Station. (WTOP/Erron Franklin)
OMCP/Erron Franklin
“This is a safe haven. People come here and we can have conversations,” she said. “We really talk here, and we can be strong in the community because we are small. We work within these walls and outside these walls.”
At the heart of the museum’s teachings are the history of Arlington’s Freedman’s Village and its importance to the community, the blacks of Virginia, as well as their fight for equal rights and progress.
“This is history, and the beautiful thing about history, and especially ours, is that it unites everyone,” he said.
In the midst of telling that story, tribute is paid to four-time Grammy Award-winning singer Roberta Flack and physician and blood conservator Dr. Charles Drew, who called Arlington County home.
The museum is open on Thursdays and Saturdays, and general admission is free.
“Come to the museum and I’ll give you a private tour,” Taylor said. “You are going to learn some things that you have never read anywhere, and it will be a surprise.”
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