McKenney Library

Petersburg's main public library, the William R. McKenney Library, occupies a house built in 1859 by John Dodson, a prominent lawyer and former mayor of Petersburg. After the Civil War, Confederate general and railroad magnate Billy Mahone lived there and entertained dignitaries including Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. In 1923 the McKenney family gave the house to the City of Petersburg for use as a library in honor of their father, attorney William R. McKenney, and it opened in 1924. For decades the library was segregated, with white patrons on the main level and African Americans confined to the basement. In 1960 several African American ministers led an effort to desegregate the main level; the next day the Revs. Wyatt Tee Walker and R.B. Williams were arrested and the library closed. The African American community then held a protest at Zion Baptist Church on Byrne Street, and several months later the library reopened as one of the first integrated institutions in Petersburg. This quiet event is considered the turning point of the civil rights movement in Petersburg. Sit-ins at places such as Woolworth and Lee Park continued, and Dr. Martin Luter King Jr. came to Petersburg to ask Rev. Walker to serve as his executive director. During several visits, Dr. King joined door-to-door voter registration drives and spoke at churches and at Virginia State University. In 1980 Wayne Crocker, an African American, was named director of the Petersburg Public Library, reflecting the success of the changes set in motion by the library's desegregation in 1960.

Petersburg, Virginia · United States