The Lorton Prison Museum featuring the Lucy Burns Gallery at the Workhouse Arts Center is proud to present the third season of Learning at Lunch, a series illuminating aspects of the former prison’s 91-year history. Each month, we invite an expert to tackle a topic related to our complicated past. After a brief 30-minute talk, presenters answer audience questions, and all attendees are invited to visit the museum following the program. Table seating provided and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch; snacks and beverages available for purchase in the W16 Visitor Center.

Lorton and (De)Segregation

For much of its history, the Lorton Correctional Complex was segregated by race. Black and white inmates lived in separate dorms and ate at separate tables in the mess hall. In 1954, in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, this changed. The process started at the Women's Workhouse and other parts of the prison complex followed. Author and history professor emeritus Alice Reagan looks back to the events and circumstances before and after the landmark court case in the prison’s history. Spoiler alert: not all went smoothly.

Free, no registration required