February is Black History Month – a celebration of Black achievement and a time to recognize the central role African Americans have had in shaping U.S. history and culture. Here we highlight five ways to honor the occasion in Loudoun, from visiting public art in downtown Leesburg to supporting Black-owned businesses across the county.

Art

Several murals in Leesburg’s downtown Arts & Cultural District depict the extraordinary contribution of African Americans to the county’s history. Outside the Loudoun Museum, see Washington DC artist Shawn Perkins’s extraordinary “Journey to Freedom” mural. The piece depicts Bazil Newman, a Black 19th Century Loudoun landowner and ferry business operator taking a young Black boy across the Potomac to freedom in Maryland on a moonlit night, Newman’s brother looking on. Revered Loudoun abolitionist Leonard Grimes observes from the riverbank. A short walk east of the museum, on the walls of the public garage on Lassiter Way, murals by local artist Kim P. Kim depict two beloved Black Leesburg business owners: Robinson’s Barbershop proprietor and US Marine Nelson “Mutt” Lassiter who passed away in 2020 aged 83, and Marie Medley-Howard, said to be the first African American woman to own a business in town – a beauty salon.

History

Many sites in Loudoun honor Black heritage. Morven Park in Leesburg is home to the 246 Years Project, which features a genealogical database of enslaved individuals. A collaboration between the Town of Leesburg, Thomas Balch Library and Morven Park, the project uses digitized copies of historic records to document and honor millions of enslaved people. The free custom-built online database allows descendants to trace the recorded experiences of their ancestors. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, The Historic Douglass High School Education & Development Campus is located on the site of the Black school that operated in Leesburg from 1941-1968. Statues, photos and other displays in the building highlight Loudoun’s Black history, while the playground features a replica of Selma Bridge and a Hall of Heroes structure modeled on the shape of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. 

Visit here for more information on other hallowed sites in Loudoun.

 

Shop at a Black-Owned Boutique

Loudoun style guru Silas Redd opened upscale thrift and vintage store Nostalgia Boutique in Purcellville in 2016. The dapper Redd sources vintage gems from around the country for his 3,000-square-foot, three-story boutique and has a stunning line of 1950s frocks and decadent fur coats. Items he has sourced or sold have been worn in movies, TV series, Netflix shows and even at the Academy Awards.  

Over in Middleburg, former Bergdorf Goodman buyer Wendy Osborn channeled her experience working at a high retail fashion brand to open her own boutique, the tranquil, sweet-scented Chloe’s of Middleburg. The popular store sells fragrant cotton wick candles, glam faux fur neck warmers, quirky iridescent no-drip design umbrellas and more. “I’m all about finding tasteful, classic and fashion-forward trend-driven clothing and accessories,” said Osborn. “My shop is for women of all seasons – daughters, mothers, grandmothers.” 

 

Try Loudoun Comfort Food

Winter makes Black History Month a good time for soul food and BBQ. C & E Southern Bites Restaurant in Sterling  sells soul food that’ll make you want to hug your mom. Try the Sausage and Chicken Gumbo or the Fried Catfish Platter with cornbread. They do excellent BBQ too, but also check out the succulent slow-cooked ribs, brisket or jerk chicken at Jules Caribbean BBQ, the semi-permanent food truck in Paeonian Springs of Surinamese-born pitmaster Jules Foeaman. For those with a sweet tooth, at Chantel’s Bakery in Sterling veteran chef-owner Dennis Stanley has been baking delectable pastries, muffins, cookies, cupcakes and made-to-order pies and sponge cakes since the 1990s.

 

Stay in Luxury

Salamander Middleburg, one of only five resorts in the nation to be awarded Forbes Five Stars for accommodations, spa and restaurant, opened in 2013 as the vision of entrepreneur and philanthropist Sheila Johnson. The property features a range of equestrian, spa, culinary and dining experiences as well as multiple meeting spaces. It hosts Family Reunion, a culinary festival celebrating Black and minority chefs each August and the star-studded Middleburg Film Festival each October.