Explore and Experience Arlington’s African American Heritage
From late 2022 through 2023, the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service (a division within Arlington County’s economic development department) brought together nearly 20 community and county partners to catalog and promote the full array of visitor sights and experiences that showcase Arlington’s African American heritage.
The project, made possible through Virginia Tourism Corporation’s DRIVE 2.0 grant program, seeks to inspire exploration, understanding and celebration of the invaluable contributions of Black culture and life in Arlington.
Following are several sightseeing highlights grouped by proximity across various neighborhoods, and including numerous Black-owned businesses you can enjoy during your stay. To ensure you don’t miss anything, please see our most current, complete list of African American Sights and Black-Owned Businesses and download our convenient map, designed by the renowned Charrette Agency.
The Arlington Convention and Visitors Service extends its sincere thanks to the wonderful team of community and county partners who contributed their knowledge and expertise to this landmark project:
- Portia Clark, President, Green Valley Civic Association
- Saundra Green, Langston Boulevard Alliance and Calloway Church
- Dr. Scott Taylor, The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington
- Wilma Jones-Killgo, Author, Speaker and CEO, "My Hall's Hill Family"
- Cathy Hix, President, Arlington Historical Society
- Stephen Smith, Columbia Pike Partnership
- Matt Jones, National Landing Business Improvement District
- Monica Cannon, Arlington Convention and Visitors Service
- Serena Bolliger, Arlington County Historic Preservation
- Mary Dallao and Henry Dunbar, Bike and Walk Arlington
- Judith Knudsen and John Stanton, Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library
- Leslie Pelzer, Arlington Parks & Recreation
- Jim Byers and Tomora Wright, Arlington Cultural Affairs
![A family looks at historical black and white photos at the African American Heritage Museum](https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=4a6cd43ecfa4e58cbfa798b9ec01e58a 320w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=ae247fab0fef918c33871286cba103c0 540w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=e40a2065b9b9e3fc18b199ddbd4a7a36 768w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=bb5775b2de1204c83086e3016556a134 1024w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=5200772502d684dab0036d33e3e0c38a 1200w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/hero-images/charette_african-american-heritage-museum_26.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=80&w=1440&s=211b3a8ff719b637af539c3810304a45 1440w)
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![A little girl smiles excitedly while gazing through a pastry display case](https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=320&q=80&w=320&s=b24b8ac4d6e4906cb859723073a78436 320w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=540&q=80&w=540&s=f335456ebf63720088df616de09f36aa 540w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=768&q=80&w=768&s=ec73b813fa544b44870dec98a2f6df54 768w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=1024&q=80&w=1024&s=01482e9b21ba17cb3bcf47ce7522415c 1024w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=1200&q=80&w=1200&s=17ce50e76f1b6755860fcc2d4f8567ca 1200w, https://arlington.imgix.net/images/African-American-Heritage-Map/Stay-Arlington-25-of-27.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.6581&fp-y=0.5362&h=1440&q=80&w=1440&s=4dfd4f89cc312056de8c265df473ffe3 1440w)
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