Until Death or Distance: Romance and Marriage Among Contrabands
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the customs and challenges of marriage during slavery.
Read MoreCode-switching and Fluidity as a Strategy for Survival
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the coping mechanisms African American characters must employ to survive plot twists and power struggles in Mercy Street.
Read MoreAfrican American Firsts in Medicine: Setting the Standard for Future Generations
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the history of the first African American doctors to practice in the United States.
Read MoreCharlotte Jenkins and Speaking Truth to Power
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the parallels between Charlotte Jenkins and real life abolitionists who challenged racism, slavery and the roles of women.
Read MoreThe Road was Rugged and Full of Thorns: Learning to Live Free
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the transitions newly freed slaves had to make, including education, finding work, discovering their new rights, and learning to maneuver within society.
Read MoreCharlotte Jenkins is the Metaphorical Balm in Gilead
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Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the significance of a new character in Season 2, Charlotte Jenkins, based off of the historic figure Harriet Jacobs.
Read MoreA House Divided
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For the last Season 1 blog post, Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the importance of family and its impact on the contraband community.
Read MoreFacts and Glossary: Alexandria's African American History
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This fact sheet and glossary is meant to point the viewer to important dates and places with emphasis on Alexandria's African American history.
Read MoreSamuel Diggs: “Free” but not Equal
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In this post, Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, discusses the extreme brutality that was always a part of slave culture.
Read MoreSisterhood
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In this post, Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, dives deeper into women’s roles and sisterhood, as seen especially in Episodes 3 and 4, where women are seen supporting each other through difficult times.
Read MoreMiles at a Crossroads
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In this post, Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum in Alexandria, Virginia, dives deeper into the lives of enslaved children.
Read MoreBecoming "Contrabands"
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In this blog post, Audrey P. Davis, Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum, explores the history behind the African American "contrabands" of the 1860s.
Read MoreTimeline: Alexandria’s African American History
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Mercy Street opens in the Spring of 1862 in Alexandria, Virginia. This timeline is meant to point the viewer to important dates and places with emphasis on Alexandria's African American history. It concerns the period leading up to the Civil War, through Emancipation and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
Read MoreUntold History: The African American Community of Mercy Street
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Audrey P. Davis is Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum in Alexandria, Virginia. In this blog post, Davis explores the African American community of 1862 Alexandria.
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