August 8, 2023
6 p.m. on the 400 block of N. St. Asaph.
Free

On Tuesday, Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. Alexandrians are invited to the site of the old jail on the 400 block of N. St. Asaph to remember Benjamin Thomas, and the terror inflicted upon him, his family, and the Black residents of this city. As the night of August 7, 1899, turned into August 8, a mob of white Alexandrians broke into the city jail on St. Asaph Street, captured the 16-year-old Thomas accused by a white child of being inappropriate, and dragged him half-a-mile to his death.

A historic marker detailing the lynching of Thomas will be unveiled at this event, followed by a sidewalk procession along St. Asaph Street to King Street and then to the corner of S. Fairfax and King Street. The half-mile memory walk follows the trail the mob took on the night that they lynched Thomas. A bus will be available for those who need to ride to the next location.

Under the lamp post on the corner of King and Fairfax Streets, the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project will hold a wreath laying ceremony and offer an acknowledgement of this tragic part of our history.

Please join us on Tuesday, August 8, 2023:

6 p.m. Unveiling at the 400 Block of St. Asaph.

6:30 p.m. Procession.

7:00 p.m. Wreath Laying on the 300 Block of King Street.

Other Opportunities to Remember Benjamin Thomas include:

Read the July/August newsletter to find out how the lynching of Benjamin Thomas was linked to slavery.

Beginning Friday, Aug. 4, City Hall and the Lamp Post at King and S. Fairfax will be illuminated in purple, the color of mourning to honor Benjamin Thomas. The George Washington Masonic Memorial will also be lit up in his honor.

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 inquiries from the news media only, contact the Office of Communications & Public Information at newsroom@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3969 

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Nicole.Quinn@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4554, Virginia Relay 711.

This release can be found at alexandriava.gov/go/4823.