Arts & Entertainment

Alexandria Hosts Refugees From Slavery Program

Museum is partnering with the National Park Service to cosponsor an evening discussing contrabands in Washington and Northern Virginia.

The National Park Service and the Office of Historic Alexandria are cosponsoring a free program, "Refugees from Slavery: Contrabands in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia" next month at the Alexandria Black History Museum.

The Nov. 8 program will consist of two parts and run from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Professor Chandra Manning of Georgetown University will explain the history of the contrabands, men and women who escaped slavery during the Civil War.

There also will be a panel discussion about who the contrabands were and how they can be remembered.

In 2013, the City of Alexandria will open its Freedmen's and Contraband Cemetery Memorial.

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The memorial honors the more than 1,700 contrabands who came to Alexandria seeking freedom and who were later buried on this site. For more information on this historic site and the future cemetery memorial, go to:  http://www.alexblackhistory.org.

The museum asks attendees to RSVP by calling 703-746-4356. Patrons needing special assistance should contact the museum two weeks prior to the event for accommodation.


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