Exactly 85 years after five Black men were arrested at a Northern Virginia library during a civil rights protest, the Alexandria Library unveiled a new traveling exhibition, detailing the events, participants and legacy of the 1939 sit-in.
“It’s all about access,” said Rose Dawson, director of the library, after children at Samuel Tucker Elementary School heard the story about their school’s namesake during an assembly in the school gym.
Tucker was a 26-year-old Black attorney during the summer of 1939, when he organized an act of peaceful civil disobedience to gain access to what was then known as the Alexandria Library. Now called the Barrett Branch Library, it was the only library building in the city, which had a population of 33,000. But the library was “whites only” — African Americans were not allowed to use it.
“On Aug. 21, 1939, William Evans, Otto Tucker — who was Sam’s brother — Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray and Clarence Strange, individually go into the public library and ask for a card. They’re well-dressed, they’re well-spoken, and as they expect, they’re told, ‘no,'” Dawson said.
“They individually go to the shelves, take down a book, and sit at a table,” silently reading, Dawson said. “This happens five times.”
As flustered library staff called police, Robert Strange (whose older brother was one of the protesters) ran to Tucker’s nearby law office. Tucker arrived at the library and brought a photographer.
“An iconic photograph is taken of the gentlemen leaving the library, under arrest,” Dawson said.
Initially, the five men were charged with trespassing.
In court, Tucker challenged the trespassing charge.
“He says how can they be arrested for trespassing when it’s a public facility,” Dawson said. “The charges are then changed to disorderly conduct.”
When the arresting officer testified he arrested the men because they were Black, the city’s attorneys stalled.
Tucker became ill and was unable to continue defending the men. Instead, other Black leaders negotiated with the city, and agreed to have a separate but equal library built.
“Tucker is not happy with the agreement because he wanted to integrate the library,” Dawson said.
The Alexandria Library Board quickly approved the construction of the Robert H. Robinson Library, appropriated funding for books, and hired a Black librarian.
“Tucker received a letter from Katherine Scoggin, who is the librarian at the time, saying that he’s free to use the Robinson library,” Dawson said.
In a letter of reply, which is part of the new traveling display, Tucker said: “I refuse and will always refuse to accept a card to be used at the (Robinson) library, in lieu of a card to be used at the existing library for which I have made application.”
After public pressure, Alexandria Public Libraries were officially integrated in 1959.
Dawson became the city’s library director in 2004, and she began researching the largely unreported 1939 sit-in.
Dawson said she and the library board apologized during the 75th anniversary of the sit-in.
“We acknowledged what took place and apologized for our role. In 2019, the library was successful in getting the commonwealth’s attorney to have the charges dismissed against the gentlemen,” Dawson said.
Mayor Justin Wilson and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter gave the dismissal of the charges to descendants of the men who were arrested on the 80th anniversary of the sit-in, Dawson said.
Access to public libraries “is critical when it comes for success for children,” Dawson added. Job hunters without access to computers are reliant on public libraries.
In July 2021, the city library system stopped charging fines for overdue books.
“Library fines were a barrier for some families. A child can get a library card and not have to worry about paying a fine,” Dawson said.
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