Join us at Woodlawn this spring for our Historic Grounds series, where we bridge the gap between scholarly research and community dialogue. Each session pairs scholarly insight with discussion, offering a unique space to learn, reflect, and connect.
When: Third Saturday of the month, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Tickets: $50 (or book a Spring Pass and save 20%!)
Join Francesco De Salvatore, the Director and Curator of the Alexandria Oral History Center, and descendants of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Cemetery (a historic African American burial ground) and the Colored Rosemont community (the site of some of the first African American homeowners in the City), as they discuss these two community history initiatives that are being completed in the City of Alexandria, VA.
Itinerary:
2:00 pm: Join a subject matter expert for an in-depth exploration of local history and its national relevance. Engage in spirited conversation with the speaker over coffee and light refreshments.
3:00 pm: An exclusive experience tied to the day’s topic - such as a specialized tour or vault access to rarely seen collection objects.
Your Ticket Includes:
Lecture & Q&A: Admission to the keynote presentation and interactive Q&A session
Vault Access: A viewing of rarely seen artifacts from the Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House Collection.
Historic Tours: Access to the Woodlawn estate for open house tours.
Refreshments: Complimentary coffee and light bites.
About the speaker:
Francesco De Salvatore is a public historian, memory worker, and archivist with a deep commitment to fostering ethical and stakeholder-driven historical preservation. They have had the honor of serving as a public historian in various roles and regions in the country, such as the Special Collections at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the National Public Housing Museum, and StoryCorps. Currently, Francesco has founded and directs the City of Alexandria’s/the Office of Historic Alexandria's newest program, the Alexandria Oral History Center, which is a community-community-driven collaboration to document and preserve the memories and stories of Alexandria. The Center also serves as a laboratory and training ground to develop and support community historians in the area. Francesco holds an M.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an M.A. in American Studies from George Washington University. They are an ABD Ph.D. student at George Washington University and they are completing a dissertation about the political and cultural history of the NYPD during the mid-20th century.