Exhibit on Black history and activism comes to Reston Museum this month

(Updated at 11:55 a.m. on 7/29/2022) A traveling exhibit chronicling the nearly 400-year-old struggle for Black equality is coming this month to the Reston Historic Trust & Museum.

“Determined,” a traveling exhibit by Virginia Museum of History and Culture, traces Black history in Virginia through stories about the struggle for equality and our collective ideals, according to a press release about the exhibit.

The exhibit, which runs from July 26 through Aug. 28, will have items and information chronicling Black history, including supplements from the Reston Museum.

The original exhibition at the Virginia Museum in Richmond featured the stories of 30 people, including Mary Smith Peake and Barbara Johns Powell, with more than 100 objects and multimedia content. The exhibit closed in March 2020 and isn’t currently on display there.

The traveling exhibit that has been lent to Reston Museum is smaller, consisting of 10 double-sided informational panels without the artifacts and multimedia content, according to Reston Museum Executive Director Alexandra Campbell. (This article has been corrected to reflect the difference between the traveling and original exhibits.)

“Along with the Determined exhibit, the Reston Museum will feature artifacts from the Reston Museum’s collection showcasing Reston’s founding as a diverse community and how Restonians continued to pursue equality for all members of their community,” Campbell said. “We hope our visitors enjoy learning not only about the history of Reston, but also how it fits into the larger context of Virginia’s history.”

The museum, which is a nonprofit organization, is located in Lake Anne Plaza and is open Tuesday through Saturday.