While Confederate honoring statues are dominating the conversation, let me focus on a different statue and history from a different point of view. This statue of Mary and Emily Edmonson sits in Old Town Alexandria right on the same block as my barre studio, and I noticed it for the first time yesterday.
Mary and Emily Edmonson were sisters who tried to escape slavery as teens. In 1848, they joined an Underground Railroad trip that promised a journey from Washington, DC to New Jersey. Alas, the boat was caught, and as punishment for trying to escape, they were sent to New Orleans to serve as prostitutes.
Amazingly, they ended up returning to Virginia because there was an outbreak of yellow fever in New Orleans. The Edmonson sisters were slaves because they were born to a mother who was in bondage. However, their father was a free man, and upon their return and with the assistance of abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, he was able to pay $2,250 to buy their freedom.
The Beecher family including author Harriet Beecher Stowe supported the education of the girls who attended Central College and Oberlin College, and both sisters became abolitionists. While Mary died at a young age from tuberculosis, Emily continued to work for civil rights throughout her life.
One thing that stands out to me - this statue stands in the place where a slave trader's pens once were. With a Whole Foods across the street and a fancy real estate agency at its back, it's easy to ignore this piece of Old Town's long history. I come to this block at least once per week and had no idea of this corner's legacy. History is literally with us every day, and we need to understand, not romanticize, our foundations.
I applaud the existence of this statute, but unfortunately, the sign doesn't share this full story and significance of this block. Without curiosity, many will never know the history.