Alexandria Library Sit-In

Alexandria Library Sit-In. Alexandria Heritage Trail. , On August 21, 1939, five young African-American men, William Evans, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange and Otto Tucker entered the Barrett Library, then a whites-only segregated, public facility. When they requested library cards and were refused, each selected a book, sat down, and began to read. Despite their polite demeanor, the police were summoned, arrested the men, and charged them with disorderly conduct. Samuel W. Tucker, a local attorney and civil rights advocate, and chief organizer of the protest, represented the men in court. They hoped the sit-in would challenge the Library's policy and lead to equal access for Alexandria's African American residents. However, the City delayed the case and no ruling was ever issued. In 1940, Alexandria built a separate facility, the Robert H. Robinson Library, for African Americans. Seen by many as a positive outcome, it was not the equality that Tucker sought. The Robinson Library now houses Alexandria's Black History Museum. In 1959, a new era commenced when the library system took steps to desegregate., Captions , Picture of the new Barrett Library taken in the late 1930s. The building has been expanded over the years., Interior of the Barrett Library taken in the 1940s., The protesters being escorted from the library by police., Samuel W. Tucker (1913-1990) Attorney Tucker spent a long career battling for equal access across the Commonwealth. He served as an infantry officer in the Second World War and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery., The new Robert H. Robinson Library not long after its opening in April 1940. The new library for African American residents was opened just seven months after the sit-in.