Lend your support to community partners.
For more than 40 years prior to its 2020 closing, L.A.C. provided artists and the community with open studios, educational opportunities, and sponsored art events for all of Arlington citizens. Learn more about this organization and how you can help ignite it’s next chapter.
The Center for Local History (CLH) collects, preserves, and shares resources that illustrate Arlington County’s history, diversity and communities.
The Arlington Commission for the Arts advises the County on policy and program development, oversees the grants and public art programs, advocates for the arts in Arlington and acts as a liaison between the arts community and the County. Arts Commission members are appointed by the County Board.
Virginia is home to the longest continuous experience of African-American culture and life in the United States. The Black Heritage museum of Arlington (BHMA) was founded to celebrate the African American journey to freedom in Arlington County.
The Arlington Historical Society is a nonprofit educational organization that conducts research to preserve and disseminate knowledge relating to the history, archaeology, material culture, geography, and socio-economic development of Arlington County, Virginia.
There is more to learn about Queen City, Virginia.
Below are linked resources from the Arlington Historical Society:
Freedman’s Village: Many residents of Queen City came from Freedman’s Village when it was closed in 1900.
https://arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org/vi-reconstruction-resources/
Videos about Freedman’s Village featuring Dr. Talmadge Williams, the former chair of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington
Part 1: Freedmen’s Village Part 1 (2009) – Arlington Historical Society
Part 2: Freedmen’s Village Part 2 (2009) – Arlington Historical Society
“Freedman’s Village: Arlington, Virginia, 1863-1900” an article in the 1984 edition of the Arlington historical Magazine by Roberta Schildt: 1984-3-Village.pdf (arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org)
“Aladdin’s Lamp: Education in Freedman’s Village” an article in the 1995 edition of the Arlington historical Magazine by Roberta Schildt: 1995-2-Alladin.pdf (arlingtonhistoricalsociety.org)
Queen City:
Education Resources/Turmoil and Change (section 8.05). To build the Pentagon, the black communities of East Arlington and Queen City were displaced through eminent domain. Historical geographer Nancy Perry wrote her doctoral dissertation on the community.
In 2013 Dr. Nancy Perry discussed her research and brought the stories of the residents to light: The Destruction of East Arlington (Queen City) (2013) – Arlington Historical Society
In 2020 Dr. Lindsey Besterbreurtje discussed segregation policy and practice in Arlington from 1900-1980.
The Fastest Growing County in America:
Suburbanization, Segregation, and Community Development in Arlington – Arlington Historical Society