Old Town West in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Robert Robinson Library 1940
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 30, 2013
1. Robert Robinson Library Marker
In the summer of 1939, Attorney Samuel W. Tucker organized six youths William Evans, Otto Tucker, Edward Caddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange, and Robert Strange for a sit-in at the segregated Alexandria Public Library, protesting the denial of access to the African American community. The sit-in is believed to have been the earliest in America. The arrest of five of these young men and their court case, pleaded by Mr. Tucker, resulted in a separate facility for African Americans being built here, at 698 North Alfred Street, the present location of the Alexandria Black History Resource Center.
The library is named after the Reverend Robert Robinson, a 19th century minister at the Roberts Chapel M.E. Church in the 600 block of S. Washington Street. With Mrs. Evelyn Roper Beam as its first librarian, the Robert Robinson Library opened its doors to the African American community on April 24, 1940.
Erected 1983.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the Virginia, The City of Alexandria
this page online
Location. 38° 48.725′ N, 77° 2.872′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Old Town West. It is at the intersection of Wythe Street and North Alfred Street, on the right when traveling east on Wythe Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 902 Wythe Street, Alexandria VA 22314, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Alexandria Black History Museum (here, next to this marker); Alexandria Black Resource Center (a
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 30, 2013
2. The Robert Robinson Library Marker
More about this marker. The marker stands in the Old Town West neighborhood of Alexandria.
Also see . . .
1. Alexandria Black History Museum. City website entry (Submitted on November 1, 2013, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
2. Samuel Wilbert Tucker. Wikipedia entry (Submitted on January 21, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 31, 2013
3. 638 N. Alfred Street - the original entrance to the Robert Robinson Library - 1940
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 31, 2013
4. The Alexandria Black History Museum - incorporating the old Robert Robinson Library facility,1989
Photographed by Wikipedia
5. Samuel W. Tucker
Photographed by Wikipedia
6. Alexandria Library Sit-in, 1939
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 31, 2013
7. The Alexandria Public Library - Kate Waller Barrett Branch
- site of the 1939 sit-in.
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, October 15, 2013
8. Alexandria Public Library - interior plaque commemorating the 1939 sit-in
A library is the collective memory of all humanity. Its contents are the common heritage of us all.
On August 21, 1939, five citizens of the city walked into this building and sat at one of its reading tables. Though surrounded by the wisdom of the ages, they were denied access to the thoughts on the shelves around them for a reason as implausible as the color of their skin. For merely being in this room, they were arrested.
The act of these five men in defying a discriminatory regulation was one of the earliest examples of a tactic successfully employed by a later generation to undermine racial segregation across the nation. This plaque is placed here so that the names of these five courageous citizens – William Evans, Otto Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray and Clarence “Buck” Strange – will forever remain a part of the collective memory of our community.
Human Rights Ordinance of the City of Alexandria
March 25, 2000
[The Seal of the City of Alexandria, Virginia]
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, March 15, 2014
9. Exhibits in the Alexandria Black History Museum
Credits. This page was last revised on February 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 31, 2013, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,161 times since then and 29 times this year. Last updated on October 26, 2019, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on October 31, 2013, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on November 1, 2013, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 9. submitted on March 22, 2014, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
