Barrett Library / Black History Museum

Alexandria's Kate Waller Barrett Branch and the Alexandria Black History Museum share an unusual history rooted in segregation and protest. The library building was constructed in 1938 and named for Dr. Kate Waller Barrett, a noted Alexandria resident and national social activist, but African Americans were barred from using it even though their taxes helped support the library. In 1939, decades before the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, 26-year-old Alexandria attorney Samuel Wilber Tucker organized a small group of African American men in what is believed to be the first sit-down demonstration in the United States. On August 21, 1939, five young, well-dressed African American men entered the library and requested library cards; when they were refused, each took a book, sat down, and began to read. They were soon arrested, but Tucker had arranged for press photographers to be outside, helping bring national attention to the protest. As a result, the city built the segregated and clearly unequal Robert H. Robinson Library in 1940, and that small building now forms the historic anchor of the Alexandria Black History Museum. Since 1985, the museum has presented exhibitions and programs on African American culture, the history of the African Diaspora, and the significant role African Americans have always played in Alexandria's history and development, while both institutions continue to serve a diverse community as vibrant public resources.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States