Resolved: Never Again
Alexandria’s Social Justice Film Debut
George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive
Sat. Sept. 21, 2024
VIP Reception 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Screening 7 p.m.
Panel Discussion 8:00-8:30 p.m.
September 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 this pilgrimage, the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project will debut a documentary that traces our journey to explore the hard truths harbored in this Port City’s past.
Join us for the premiere of Resolved: Never Again on September 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.
“Everyone is used to viewing history through a larger national lens, but our nation is built on small communities and Alexandria’s story is a reflection of the nation’s story,” said Gretchen Bulova, Director of the Office of Historic Alexandria and co-chair of ACRP. “Now, we are trying to tell everybody the story of Alexandria, the good and the bad,” she added.
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 conservatives shut down any and all opportunities for African Americans to exercise their hard-earned civil rights, the lynchings of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas were used to terrorize Alexandria’s Black community members into submission.
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 on our community from exposing these 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 sacred soil to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
“We are all part of one human race,” said Rev. Taft Healey of Shiloh Baptist Church, “give one another the benefit of the doubt by sharing kindness before judgment.”
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.
Learn more about ACRP and our efforts to build a welcoming community bound by equity and inclusion.
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.
About the Alexandria Community Remembrance Project.
The Alexandria Community Remembrance Project (ACRP) is a city-wide initiative dedicated to helping Alexandria understand its history of racial terror hate crimes and to work toward creating a welcoming community bound by equity and inclusion.
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.