On January 15 ,2018, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our amazing resident Keith led us on a highly emotional and thoughtful tour of Alexandria. The Kensington bus was filled to capacity with 11 residents and tam members on board. Lunch sacks were pre-ordered with sandwiches, cookies and a variety of chips and a beautifully created, 15 page tour guide and agenda were in the hands of each attendee!
Despite being a blustery cold day, the heat inside kept us all warm and a few of us ventured out for a look at the Alexandria African American Heritage Park and our final stop, The Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery. At the conclusion of the tour, we informed everyone that we would be featuring “Remember the Titans” film the following day.
One of the most memorable moments came in the beginning of our journey and tour. We had stopped at the T.C. Williams High school where Keith stood up and thanked the group for joining him. He said that although this bus tour was entitled the “Alexandria Civil Rights “tour, he felt strongly that we should actually refer to this as the “Civil Wrongs” Tour”. There wasn’t a dry eye to be found after that introduction and the driving tour began.
We genuinely thank you Keith for ALL of the effort you put into designing this tour and your passionate account
of the “wrongs” that took place throughout Alexandria and beyond. You are remarkable, and The Kensington, residents, team members and families are all very fortunate to know such a distinguished man and contributor to society!
This was our full tour agenda:
- T. C. Williams High School
- Alexandria Black History Museum
- Barrett Branch Library (Formerly known as Queens Street Library)
- Freedom House
- Alexandria African American Heritage Park
- Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery