Alexandria News Briefs

‘Resolved: Never Again’

Sept. 21, 2024 is the second anniversary of the day that hundreds of Alexandrians gathered to draw history from our soil in honor of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas, lynched in this city in 1897 and 1899. To commemorate, the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project will debut a documentary that traces the City’s efforts to explore the hard truths harbored in this Port City’s past.

See the premiere of ‘Resolved: Never Again’ on Sept. 21, 2024 at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Emmy-award winning journalist Robin Hamilton and Round Robin Productions created the 50-minute film to document Alexandria’s dedication to telling the whole truth of this city’s history.

Founded 275 years ago, in 1749, slavery has always been a part of Alexandria’s past, according to Audrey Davis, who heads up the Division of African American History and co-chairs ACRP. “What most people are not aware of is our role as a major hub for the domestic slave trade.” 

The optimized human trafficking introduced in Alexandria in 1828 continued until 1861 when Union Troops took control of the city. 

After the Civil War, when segregationists shut down any and all opportunities for African Americans to exercise their hard-earned civil rights, the lynchings of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas terrorized Alexandria’s Black residents.

In the film, Mayor Justin Wilson, former Police Chief Don Hayes and Sheriff Sean Casey talk about the importance of acknowledging and taking responsibility for past actions and inactions. While Joseph McCoy descendant Debra White shares her family’s experience learning about this history and then joining Alexandria to confront it.

The film captures the impact of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Remembrance Movement from exposing uncomfortable truths, to honoring the lives and deaths of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas with historic markers, a soil collection and a pilgrimage by nearly 200 community members and high school students to Montgomery, Ala. to deliver the soil to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

There are multiple ways to participate in the evening events, each are ticketed to raise funds for the ongoing work of the Remembrance Project.

Resolved: Never Again followed by panel discussion in the auditorium, doors open at 6:30, screening begins at 7 p.m.
Buy Tickets.

ACRP Fundraising Reception in the Masonic Memorials Great Hall with the film maker from 5:30-6:45, followed by screening. Buy Tickets.

City Awarded $525,000 for Flood Mitigation Efforts 

The City of Alexandria Department of Transportation and Environmental Services has been awarded a $525,000 grant through the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), via CFPF-24-04-38, to develop a new comprehensive Flood Resilience Plan.    

The Flood Resilience Plan was identified as a need in the updated Energy and Climate Change Action Plan. The Flood Resilience Plan will support future efforts of the Flood Action Alexandria initiative.

The Flood Resilience Plan expands a new engagement effort to communicate with residents across the city to learn about first-hand experiences with flooding. The Plan will include efforts to reach communities who may have language or social barriers, or a lack of technology access.

The CFPF grant program is administered by Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). CFPF is funded through the auction of carbon allowances through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and a total of $53.9 million was awarded during this round.   

The grant is a 75/25 match, with the City providing $175,000 in local matching funds to develop the Plan, to bring total project funding to $700,000.  

Since the program launched in 2021, the City has received more than $6.4 million in CFPF grant funds, totaling more than $11.3 million for flood mitigation efforts across the city.  

More information on the grant and related stormwater management projects can be found on the City website