Belle View near Alexandria in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Desegregation of Community Clubs
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 25, 2025
1. Desegregation of Community Clubs Marker
Inscription.
Desegregation of Community Clubs. . In 1965, Paul Sullivan rented a house to Theodore R. Freeman Jr. and transferred a Little Hunting Park (LHP) membership as part of the lease. The LHP board denied the transfer in part because the Freeman family was African American. After Sullivan mounted a vigorous campaign of protest, the board also revoked his membership. Both families filed a lawsuit in 1966 and lost several appeals. In Dec. 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sullivan v. LHP that the exclusion of African Americans was a violation of the Civil Rights Act and thus constituted illegal housing discrimination. This case, along with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, desegregated recreational associations across the U.S.
In 1965, Paul Sullivan rented a house to Theodore R. Freeman Jr. and transferred a Little Hunting Park (LHP) membership as part of the lease. The LHP board denied the transfer in part because the Freeman family was African American. After Sullivan mounted a vigorous campaign of protest, the board also revoked his membership. Both families filed a lawsuit in 1966 and lost several appeals. In Dec. 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Sullivan v. LHP that the exclusion of African Americans was a violation of the Civil Rights Act and thus constituted illegal housing discrimination. This case, along with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, desegregated recreational associations across the U.S.
Erected 2025 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number C-37.)
Location. 38° 45.975′ N, 77° 4.344′ W. Marker is near Alexandria, Virginia,
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in Fairfax County. It is in Belle View. It is on Canterbury Lane east of Stanford Drive, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7000 Coventry Rd, Alexandria VA 22307, 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, and in the Mid-Atlantic. 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.
More about this marker. Marker was cast in 2023, erected in 2025.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 25, 2025
3. Little Hunting Park still exists today.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 4, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 135 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 25, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
