Leesburg, VA (February 9, 2026) – A new exhibit, “A Century of Black History Commemorations: The Black Community and the BHC - Making of Memory in Loudoun County” is on display in the Mercer Room at Thomas Balch  Library through the end of March.

Since its founding in 2000, the Black History Committee (BHC) of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library has carried forward a mission deeply aligned with the principles of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)—to collect, preserve, share, and promote the history of African Americans in the emergence of Loudoun County and beyond. Like ASALH, the BHC affirms that African American history is essential to understanding the full American story.

The committee’s founders and early supporters—many born and raised in Loudoun—undertook this work with pride and purpose, determined to tell their stories in their own voices. Over the past 25 years, a dedicated group of scholars, community historians, educators, and volunteers has built a body of work that reflects the depth, resilience, and contributions of Loudoun’s Black communities.

This exhibition offers a glimpse into that legacy. It highlights the community’s long-standing commitment to education through advocacy for accredited and equitably funded schools; to civil rights through adult and youth activism, protest, and courage in the face of authority; and to community pride through commemorations such as Emancipation Day, honoring the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Inspired by historians such as Carter G. Woodson and Arturo Schomburg, the BHC supports the Thomas Balch Library by building accessible collections—oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and publications—that document nearly 30 Black communities established in Loudoun before and after Emancipation. This work, made possible through partnerships with individuals, churches, civic organizations, and local government, honors the people whose lives and labor shaped Loudoun County and continues to guide future scholarship, genealogy, and community memory.

The exhibit is viewable during the library’s operating hours, which are Monday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, please call 703-737-7195 or email balchlib@leesburgva.gov.

Media Contact:
Kara Rodriguez, Public Information Officer
pio@leesburgva.gov
703-669-1425