Category: Black People of Alexandria

The Other Alexandria: A 160-year-old Road Map

Annie Lee Wheeler’s death certificate

Many people came to Alexandria during the civil war from Maryland, North Carolina and other parts of Virginia. Few African American families talked to their children about their lives prior to the civil war. These stories were lost and never passed down through the generations. However, one of these families who migrated to Alexandria during the civil war did share their family history with their younger generation.

Annie Lee Wheeler shared her father’s family history with her daughter, Helena Wheeler and her grandchildren, especially her granddaughter, Shirley Gilliam Sanders Steele.

Check out their story in the Alexandria Times’ newspaper dated April 14, 2022, at https://alextimes.com/2022/04/the-other-alexandria-steele/.

Mrs. Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day

Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day

Mrs. Helen Lumpkins Robinson Day was a well-known teacher at Parker-Gray School and at Charles Houston Elementary School. She was born in Alexandria, VA in 1905. She was a trailblazer in advocating for a daycare center for African Americans. She was on many committees and raised money for many disadvantage African Americans.

You can read the article about Mrs. Day in the Alexandria Times at https://alextimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3.10.22-Layout.pdf.

Happy Black History Month

“The Other Alexandria’s Column,” in the Alexandria Times Newspaper

For Black History Month, I would like to highlight two articles that I wrote. The first article is in the December 2021 newspaper, I wrote an article on Lauretta Dorsey Young who was a well-known Opera Singer. Lauretta was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1942. Her family migrated to Baltimore, Maryland around 1951.

Lauretta Dorsey Young

Lauretta became an international Opera Singer winning many awards for her performance. She never forgot her ties to Alexandria. The City of Alexandria was Lauretta’s birthplace and throughout her world travels, she made all the Alexandrians proud.

You can read my article on Lauretta in:

Lauretta Dorsey Young sings for the world

Happy Black History Month

“The Other Alexandria’s Column,” in the Alexandria Times Newspaper

For Black History Month, I would like to highlight two articles that I wrote. The second article written this month in February 2022; I wrote an article on Mr. Holland who was a teacher at Parker-Gray School. He wanted the students to have the same activities that were available in the white high schools. Mr. Holland volunteered as a coach and recruited other teachers until funding was allocated for a full-time coach.

Mr. Holland taught at Parker-Gray from 1933 to 1965. He retired in 1966 but did not stop teaching. He became a substitute teacher staying in the school system until he was 82-years old.

You can read my article on Mr. Holland in:

The Other Alexandria: The first coach of Parker-Gray High School