As Black History Month 2019 in Fairfax County draws to a close, here is a small sample of the many speeches, celebrations, exhibitions and events that have made it specially memorable.
At left, Dontae Bugg, Esq., soon to take office as the third African-American ever to become a circuit court judge in Fairfax County. Bugg gave the keynote speech at a program by the Fairfax County NAACP on Sat. Feb. 23 to mark the month, and is shown flanked by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority alumnae chapter officers Lenior Simmons (left) and Sharlene Eberhart.
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Herndon was the site of a special service to mark the month on Sun. Feb. 24, attended by, among many others, Sassy Brooks (left) and Darla Sligh.
Meanwhile, the Alexandria Black History Museum has mounted a special exhibit, Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad, displaying works by photographer Jeanine Michna-Bales from her 2,000 miles of travel for more than a decade along routes traveled by enslaved Americans seeking freedom. The exhibit will run through March 16.
Compiled by Wallicia Gill