The Alexandria Oral History Center is a community-driven collaboration to document and preserve the memories and stories of Alexandria. The Center provides residents with oral history trainings and resources to conduct oral history interviews and community history projects. Additionally, the Center maintains a public archive to preserve oral histories for future generations. The Center also deepens the public’s engagement and understanding of Alexandria’s past and present by producing public programs and resources with the oral history archive.

The Alexandria Oral History Center is grounded in the tradition of popular education and community historians who have used oral history as an essential social and civic tool for social impact. The Center’s purpose is to create a more nuanced and critical record of Alexandria’s past and present by documenting and preserving a diverse range of voices and experiences. Additionally, the purpose of the Center is to share authority with residents of Alexandria over the interpretation and preservation of Alexandria’s past and present by training and supporting future community historians. The Center is also committed to using the oral history process to foster tolerance, understanding, and a sense of community among residents in Alexandria.

• Internship Opportunity: The Intern for the Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery Community History Initiative will support the Office of Historic Alexandria’s efforts to document and preserve the memories and stories of Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery in Alexandria, VA. The intern will gain the unique opportunity to experience a public history project about African American history in Alexandria, VA, and learn more about stakeholder-driven public history projects. They are specifically responsible for conducting community engagement with descendants of those buried at Douglass Cemetery; completing oral history transcriptions; conducting research as it relates to Douglass Cemetery; completing biographies of those buried at Douglass Cemetery; participating in weekly staff and community meetings; and helping complete a quarterly Douglass Cemetery Newsletter. Learn more.
• Grant Received: Virginia Humanities awarded the Office of Historic Alexandria a $20,000 grant in 2023, to support an oral history initiative to document the stories of the Douglass Cemetery descendant community. This project is supported by the Social Responsibility Group and utilized interns from Howard University.

In the News

• Introducing Alexandria's New Oral History Center. Alexandria Times, September 15, 2022