Congratulations to Audrey Davis

Congratulations to Living Legends of Alexandria board member Audrey Davis on her appointment as Director of the Alexandria Black History Museum. Davis has worked at the museum for the past 21 years and has served as Acting Director since July 1, 2012, when the previous Director, Louis Hicks, retired from City service . Davis was selected from among six finalists after a nationwide search.

Audrey Davis at the Black History Museum during recent
Civil Rights Saturday program
Photo by Nina Tisara

Throughout her tenure with the City of Alexandria, Davis has been recognized for her exemplary service and commitment to Alexandria and Virginia. In 2004, she was appointed by Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner to the Board of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy in Charlottesville, and she was reappointed to that Board in 2007 by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine, serving until her term ended in 2010. In 2008, she received a special merit award from former Alexandria City Manager James Hartmann for her contribution to the Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial Design Competition Committee. In 2009, she was honored with the Salute to Women Awards Vola Lawson Award by the Alexandria Commission on Women as that year's City of Alexandria employee who had made the greatest impact to improve the role of women and girls in the City. In 2012 she was an essential part of the OHA team that achieved accreditation of all departmental facilities, including for the first time the Alexandria Black History Museum, as a “museum system” by the American Alliance of Museums. That designation, achieved by only eight municipal agencies in the United States, confirms the achievement of the highest standards and best practices recognized in the museum profession. This year Davis also was awarded the Social Justice Award presented by Russell Temple CME Church of Alexandria, in honor of the work the museum has done during the last two years to support social causes in Alexandria. 

Davis has also served as president of the Alexandria Historical Society; a founding member and current member of the Advisory Council of Virginia Africana: The Network of Museum, History and Preservation Professionals; and past president of the Virginia Association of Museums. She is also a member of the American Alliance of Museums and a member of the Association of African American Museums.

In 2013, History Press published African Americans of Alexandria, Virginia: Beacons of Light in the 20th Century. Audrey Davis was one of five authors of the book, which also included Char McCargo Bah, Christa Watters, Gwen Brown-Henderson and James Henson. The book chronicles the life of 63 African American men and women whose actions made a difference in the historic fabric of Alexandria, Virginia between 1920-1965. The book was the fourth biggest seller for History Press in 2013 and will be going into its third printing soon. The proceeds from the book go to support the Alexandria Black History Museum.