Penrose in Arlington in Arlington County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Evelyn Reid Syphax

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 11, 2024

1. Evelyn Reid Syphax Marker

Inscription.
The building in front of you at 2110 Washington Boulevard is the Syphax Education Center. It contains the administrative offices of Arlington Public Schools and is named in memory of Arlington educator and activist Evelyn Reid Syphax (1926-2000).

Life and Education Evelyn Reid Syphax devoted a lifetime of service to the Arlington community. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, she earned a bachelor's degree in English and Language Arts from Virginia Union University (VUU) in 1948. She moved to Arlington in 1951 and received a master's degree in Early Childhood Education from New York University in 1954. She was a language arts and reading specialist within the Arlington Public Schools system for over 20 years at several schools including Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington View.

While teaching at Langston Elementary School, she met Archie Douglas Syphax, one of Arlington County's first paid African American firefighters. Evelyn and Archie married in 1956 and raised two sons, Archie Douglas ("Doug") Syphax, Jr., and Craig Custis Syphax.

Champion for Education As an educator, Evelyn Syphax advocated for learning

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experiences that go beyond what is possible in the traditional school classroom. She launched the Syphax Child Care Center in 1963 to provide preschool for African American children. She also operated the first Montessori School in Arlington from 1966 to 1987.

Evelyn Syphax championed children's rights through her service on the Arlington School Board from 1980 to 1984, and as Vice Chairman (1981) and Chairman (1983) of that body. She was instrumental in overhauling the County's 1971 busing desegregation plan to reduce long bus rides for non-white students and showed that the plan itself was racially discriminatory.

Civic Leadership Evelyn Syphax served as Chairman of the Arlington Child Care Advisory Committee, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the State Advisory Council on Vocational Education, and sat on the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Private Schools Association.

Syphax was the Founder and first President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women. In 1956 she organized the local Zeta Chi Omega chapter of her beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® (ΑΚΑ), becoming

Evelyn Reid Syphax Marker across the street from Arlington County's Syphax Education Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 11, 2024

2. Evelyn Reid Syphax Marker across the street from Arlington County's Syphax Education Center

its President, and then Director of the Mid-Atlantic Region of ΑΚΑ from 1978 to 1982.

Charity and Honors Evelyn Syphax was devoted to local history. She served as President of the Arlington Historical Society (1988-1989). She campaigned to recognize Freedman's Village, a community of formerly enslaved African Americans that lived on the grounds of Arlington House, with a state marker. In 1999, she donated $25,000 to establish the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.

Evelyn Syphax received many honors during her life. The Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women recognized here as a 'Notable Woman of Arlington' in 1992. She received honorary doctorates from St. Paul's College, Lynchburg College, and VUU. Her undergraduate alma mater VUU also named its School of Education after her in 2010.

[Captions:]
Evelyn Reid ca. 1945.

Evelyn Reid Syphax and VUU classmate Governor Douglas Wilder with President Bill Clinton in 1994.

Evelyn Reid Syphax being sworn in to her term on the Arlington School Board c.1983.

Evelyn Syphax receiving her honorary doctorate in May 1991 from Virginia Union University

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with her sons Rev. A.D. Syphax, Jr., (left) and Craig Syphax (right).

Erected 2023 by Arlington County, Virginia.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is May 1991.

Location. 38° 52.367′ N, 77° 4.97′ W. Marker is in Arlington, Virginia, in Arlington County. It is in Penrose. It is on South Uhle Street just south of Walter Reed Drive, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2110 Washington Blvd, Arlington VA 22204, 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: Fort Craig (approx. 0.2 miles away); Charles Drew House (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named The Confederate Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fort Tillinghast (approx. 0.4 miles away); Argonne Cross (approx. 0.4 miles away); American-Armenian Volunteer Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Rough Riders (approx. 0.4 miles away); Buffalo Soldiers (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Arlington.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Confederate Memorial (was approx. 0.4 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 375 times since then and 83 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 11, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.