2024 Benjamin Thomas Remembrance Event
Featuring Speaker Rachel Laser, an educator on racism and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
Shiloh Baptist Church, 1401 Jamieson Ave.
Thursday, August 8
Doors open at 6:15 p.m.; Program begins at 6:30 p.m.
Free
Join us Thursday, Aug. 8 at 6:30 p.m. to honor the memory of Benjamin Thomas, lynched in Alexandria 125 years ago. The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) presents a courageous conversation featuring Rachel Laser, who will reflect on how the current Parental Rights movement is undermining civil rights. The secular program will be held at Shiloh Baptist Worship Center, 1401 Jamieson Avenue, where Thomas’ memorial service was held to protest his lynching in 1899.
On Tues. Aug. 8, 1899, Benjamin Thomas, a 16-year-old native of Alexandria, was lynched at the corner of Fairfax and King Streets after being dragged from the jail on Princess and St. Asaph Streets. Accused by his next-door neighbor’s seven-year-old daughter of assault and arrested based solely on her testimony, Thomas maintained his innocence. In the aftermath, both Black and white Alexandrians believed he was innocent. News of his murder, after local Black leadership warned authorities of a threat to lynch him, caused work stoppages around the region.
On Mon. Aug. 28, 1899, more than 600 people attended a mass meeting at Shiloh Baptist Church for two reasons, to memorialize Benjamin Thompson and to protest his lynching. At the packed event, leaders from churches in Alexandria and the District called for an economic boycott of any business associated with those who took part in the mob.
Join us for an hour-long program of memory, music, and listening, as we remember Benjamin Thomas and the courageous actions of Alexandria's Black community in 1899.
Other Opportunities to Remember Benjamin Thomas include:
Read the July/August newsletter to find out more about Benjamin Thomas and read about The Pursuit of Truth.
City Hall and the Lamp Post at King and S. Fairfax will be illuminated in purple, the color of mourning to honor Benjamin Thomas.
Visit the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project’s website to learn more about what happened to Benjamin Thomas and Alexandria’s history of racial terror.
Visit alexandriava.gov/Historic for more information about the Remembrance Project, upcoming programming, and the history of lynching in Alexandria, and to sign up for the monthly newsletter.
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For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole Quinn at historicalexandria@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.
If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you, please email LanguageAccess@alexandriava.gov or call 703-746-3960.
For media inquiries, contact Jeanene Harris at 703.851.4333, Jeanene.harris@alexandriava.gov.
Alexandria at 275: Connecting to our past to define a brighter future.
Since its 1749 founding, the historic city of Alexandria has played a major role in our nation’s story and reflected its progress toward inclusivity. Join us at events from April through September as we mark Alexandria’s 275th anniversary and embark on the next chapter in our city’s vibrant history at alexandriava.gov/ALX275.