Markers honoring dozens more people once enslaved in Arlington are slated to be installed by the end of the year.
The Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington project has been in the process of installing “stumbling stones,” brass markers embedded in sidewalks. They mark places where those enslaved in Arlington lived and/or worked between 1669 and 1865.
The initiative is a joint effort of the Arlington Historical Society and Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.
“We have a busy fall planned and hope to see you at one of the upcoming events,” leaders said in a recent email to supporters.
Upcoming dedication ceremonies for new stumbling stones include:
- Saturday, Sept. 19 at 4 p.m.: Hendry House at Fort C.F. Smith Park (2411 24th Street N.)
- Friday, Sept. 25 at 10:30 a.m.: Grace Hopper Center (816 S. Walter Reed Drive)
- Saturday, Sept. 26 at 10 a.m.: Woodstock Park (N. Woodstock Street and 20th Road N.)
- Monday, Sept. 27 at noon: Fairlington Community Center (3308 S. Stafford Street)
- Saturday, Oct. 3 at 11 a.m.: Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
- Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 p.m.: Lee Center baseball field (24th Street N. and N. Kentucky Street)
- Saturday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.: Pike Park (2820 Columbia Pike)
The initiative is now in its third year. It is based on the “Stolpersteine” initiative that began in Germany to honor victims of the Holocaust.
Arlington is among the first communities in the nation to embrace the initiative, modifying it in order to promote better understanding of the lives of those enslaved locally in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Since the start of the year, 19 markers have been placed at locations in Alcova Heights, Fairlington, Arlington Forest, Halls Hill and Barcroft.
They bring to 18 the total number of locations across the community with markers in place.
In addition to the physical reminders of the lives of those enslaved, Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington maintains a database of those known to have been enslaved in what today is Arlington County.
As part of the Memorializing the Enslaved in Arlington initiative, interviews with the descendants of those enslaved locally will begin this fall. In addition, a genealogy workshop focused on Black history is slated to take place Nov. 21 at Central Library.
