A local initiative is ensuring the experiences of Black Arlingtonians are among those highlighted as the nation marks its 250th birthday.
Local community leader Wilma Jones used the Arlington Historical Society’s HistoryFest on Saturday to spotlight “Arlington History from the Black Side.”
Four sessions featuring local students explored the history of African-American families from the colonial period to the civil-rights era.
A fourth-generation Halls Hill resident, Jones said Black families were able to survive and in many cases thrive in the county when they had the resources to put down roots.
“Land ownership is not just about wealth. It’s about who gets to stay, who gets to go,” she said during the history festival.
Jones used her own research, her family’s 150-year archive and primary/secondary source material to develop the stories told at HistoryFest, held at Kenmore Middle School.
Students showcased in the presentations included seventh-grader Riziki Dunbar and eighth-grader Wanjiru Ogonji, both of Gunston Middle School, and Eduardo Saldaña Córdova, an eighth-grader at Blessed Sacrament School in Alexandria.
Over the course of the day, they told four distinct stories:
- “A Love Story and Strategic Triumph,” telling the story of Levi and Sara Ann Jones (1840s)
- “When One Door Closes, Another Opens,” looking at the lives of Henry Holmes William Butler (1860s–90s)
- “The Ownership Revolution,” detailing the lives of Moses Pelham and Moses Jackson (1880s-1900s)
- “Community Cannot Be Destroyed,” looking at the lives of the Rev. Washington Waller Camp and John B. Syphax (1860s-1940s)
Artifacts from each of these eras were on display throughout the day.
Jones is the author of “My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood” and created Arlington Black Heritage Experiences, a heritage tourism company for travel groups. Her brother, Michael Jones, was one of the four Black students who in 1959 integrated Arlington’s Stratford Junior High School.
The booth and the four presentations were in keeping with the goal of HistoryFest organizers to include a cross section of Arlington life at the event.
“It is about helping every resident see themselves as part of the story,” historical society president Peter Vaselopulos said at the festival’s opening ceremony.
Jones said all county residents benefit from learning the rich depth of the county’s Black heritage.
“Black people have been here for over 400 years, and we have earned our place in this history,” she said.
Jones is the recipient of the James B. Hunter Human Rights Award from the county government and the Henry L. Holmes Meritorious Service Award from the Arlington NAACP. She was one of the leaders in the campaign to preserve the historic Fire Station #8.
Fundraiser to benefit Black Heritage Museum: The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington will host its 2026 Founders Day Fundraiser on Thursday, June 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel.
The annual event honors the late Evelyn Reid Syphax, who founded the museum. The keynote speaker will be Gwen Tolbart of Fox 5 Washington.
