Desegregation in Northern Virginia Libraries

by Chris Barbuschak, Suzanne S. LaPierre, Dr. Sujatha Hampton (Foreword)

A Hidden History of Unequal Access During the Jim Crow era, many public libraries were segregated. The public library plays a fundamental role in communities by providing free educational resources, boosting literacy and knowledge, and serving as a place of refuge. Despite this, many were inaccessible to Black residents and continued to resist integration even after the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Discover the truth about the barriers imposed on the Black community and learn about the citizens-turned-activists who used protests and lawsuits to achieve more equitable library services. Their legacy resonates today as libraries continue to evolve and embrace more inclusive practices. Join Fairfax County librarians Chris Barbuschak and Suzanne LaPierre as they investigate the overlooked and little-known history of segregated library services in Northern Virginia.

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 9, 2023

Reviews

[Lorene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Librarians are the authors, so this book is incredibly well researched. The amount of primary source material they found is fantastic. The information is very well put together. I liked that they listed "Existing Sites and Landmarks" at the end of each chapter. #travelgoals The index is very helpful. This book would be interesting to readers local to the locations discussed in the book, as well as to anyone interested in desegregation of libraries and schools. Highly recommend.

[Julia Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great deep-dive into a niche of Northern Virginia history and racial politics in the DMV. While the book is incredibly well researched, the writing can sometimes feel like a list of events and it was hard to discern what would be important down the line. The final chapter does a great job of synthesizing the specific contexts and consequences around educational restrictions, white supremacy, and the socio-cultural legacy of the civil war. Highly recommend for people from/interested in NOVA history.

[Kimberly Steimel Howard]

Fascinating look into the history of Northern Virginia libraries. Lots of information not only about the explicit segregation and violence but also about the idea of it being unwelcoming even when libraries weren’t officially segregated.

The history behind the Patrick Henry Library was especially interesting:

“While the previous five FCPL branches and the main library were integrated when they were opened between 1953 and 1961, Patrick Henry Library was the first branch established with the explicit purpose of being accessible to all residents of the town of Vienna. Until its opening in 1926, Vienna’s Black residents were excluded from the only library around, the Vienna Town Library.”

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested this book at my local library and I am so thankful that they ordered a copy!

It is a must read for anyone who loves and appreciate libraries or wants to learn more about Virginia (also American) history. It focuses on the counties of Northern Virginia, but the roads to desegregated libraries were similar in the rest of the state, and there are some sections that go into Washington DC, Portsmouth, and Hampton Roads.

This book is the result of a question posed in 2021:

Were Fairfax County Public Libraries segregated?

Two Fairfax County librarians decided to tackle that question and this book is the result of their research.

Brown V Board of Education was decided in 1954, but that didn’t mean Virginians made an effort to desegregate. In fact, it took until the late 1960s and several lawsuits for it to happen. Begrudgingly.

Having grown up in Fairfax County, near the Loudoun County line, I came away thankful to those that fought for more equal opportunities. I recognized several sites of libraries of the past and it was neat to connect that with the landscape of the present.

Seen as a more progressive part of Virginia, this book helped me understood why racism still rears its ugly head there, too. I cringed when I came across quotes and propaganda slogans of the 50s and 60s that sound a lot like those being spread by the far right today.

Those who lived during and approved of segregation and Jim Crow are still alive to instill their beliefs in others. Books like this are a reminder that that time in history is not so long ago and people’s beliefs don’t magically disappear with a court ruling or law.

At the same time, many of them are alive who fought against it. And won. They’re heroes and I loved seeing some of them recognized in this book.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a LOT. Thank you.

[DW Rowlands · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book, but it seems that it is mostly short because there sadly isn't that much information available: segregation of libraries was sometimes explicitly written into bylaws or stated in news articles, but sometimes it was enforced without being formally a policy, and in some cases it's hard to be sure if it even was explicitly enforced or stated, but Black residents generally understood that they wouldn't be welcome in the public library in their town and so didn't try to gain access.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised by how quickly segregation was eliminated in some libraries in Northern Virginia -- evidently because libraries weren't seen as especially "intimate" locations compared to schools or even restaurants -- but also by the fact that Virginia's 1940's law that seemed to require desegregation or at least separate-but-equal libraries for Black residents if state money was used for libraries was almost exactly contemporary with Maryland's law creating funding for county libraries that also seems to have required non-segregation. I'd really like to see a book like this on Maryland libraries.

I was also a bit startled to learn that neither the DC Public Library nor the Library of Congress was ever segregated, something that especially surprises me about the latter given that it existed even before the end of slavery.

[Suzanne LaPierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pair of interior decorators prevented from checking out a book about window shades; an attorney unable to use the public library a block from his house; teenagers threatened with arrest for sitting quietly in the library reading- this book centers around some of the little-known citizen-turned-activists who worked to open up public libraries that continued to exclude Black residents long after it was legal to do so. It includes many stories and photographs derived from local archives that have never before been published. Northern Virginia during the Jim Crow era was in a unique position, sandwiched between the Deep South and the progressive hub of Washington DC. Learn why some libraries in Northern Virginia were among the first to integrate while others remained segregated into the 60s. In addition to library desegregation in Northern Virginia, cases elsewhere in Virginia and Washington, DC. are included for context.