The Alexandria Waterfront, a historic site now prone to frequent flooding, has long been a place where natural forces and human activity intersect, often with profound consequences. The City of Alexandria’s newest public art installation – Break Water by Nekisha Durrett – seeks to engage with this intersection by reflecting on the overlooked narratives of Black lives tied to this waterfront—lives that have been both disregarded and central to the shaping of this space.

Break Water’s centerpiece, crafted from wood, evokes the sidewheel of the steamboat River Queen, a vessel that symbolized Black ownership and opportunity until its mysterious destruction by fire in 1911, shortly after its purchase by Lewis Jefferson, a Black entrepreneur. Encircled by black sandbags, the piece honors the resilience and strength of Black communities, referencing both protection and endurance during crises

Durrett explains, “In Break Water, these black sandbags serve not only as mere barriers; they symbolize the ocean’s breakwaters and connect to the American scholar Fred Moten’s concept of the jazz ‘break’ as a site of Black resistance and innovation - a moment of disruption and possibility within the relentless flow of time and history.”

Beneath the sculpture, a ground mural of tangled taut ropes – called “Life Lines” – appears to tether the artwork to the park’s architectural elements, anchoring it against a symbolic undercurrent. Viewers are invited to walk the life lines that are each accompanied by a specific history, event, person, place, ritual, or tradition that has contributed to Alexandria’s unique identity. The painted lines symbolize the collective struggle to preserve these legacies, ensuring they are not swept away. Together the sculpture and the mural create a powerful tribute to the resilience, creativity, and enduring spirit of Alexandria’s Black community.