mission

It is the mission of Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House to engage with our community to preserve history and care for nature at this former site of enslavement. Our programs, events, and interpretation foster racial justice, promote sustainable practices, nurture wellbeing, and contribute to community repair.

 Updated February 2023 in conjunction with our staff’s work on the American Alliance of Museum’s Museum Assessment Program (MAP). More insight into our work with MAP will be available soon.

At Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, a nationally significant site, we believe that historic places and sites of all types and periods are obligated to be places of truth-telling and inclusivity. There is much to research, learn, and uncover, especially of the histories that are painful and difficult to discuss.  

We value, respect, and support the diverse views and contributions of our communities, and are at our best when supporting diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. 

Interpretation Priorities

We partner to play a central role in the region regarding ancestors of the site and the thread through to current descendants and their communities, and connections to other sites in Louisiana and other points along with the slave trade and underground railroad. This includes neighbor sites with shared history such as Quaker meeting house, Baptist Church, Gum Springs, Mount Vernon, and sites along the Potomac Heritage Trails, as well as Arcadia Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and equitable food distribution, radical experiments, and movements.

We believe all Americans deserve to see their history in the places that surround us. Yet just a small fraction of the sites on the National Register of Historic Places represent women and people of color. As a nation, we have work to do to fill in the gaps of our cultural heritage.

That’s why the Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, shines a long-overdue spotlight on generations of trailblazers by saving the places where they raised their voices, took their stands, and found the courage to change the world

Thanks to the support of people like you, we can tell a fuller American story. It’s a story that does justice to the contributions of women, people of color, and all Americans in shaping our nation and leading us forward. And it’s a story that stirs us all to take pride in our shared heritage and inspires us to create an even more perfect union for generations to come.