Alexandria Library Civil Rights Sit-In 70th Anniversary
Friday, August 21, 2009
| On August 21, 1939, five young African American men -- William Evans, Otto L. Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange -- staged a "sit-down strike" at the then whites-only Alexandria Library. One by one the young men entered the building and asked to register for a library card. Each well-dressed visitor was refused, then each selected a book and sat down to read. All five were arrested for disorderly conduct. Attorney Samuel W. Tucker, who had organized the action himself, represented them and none of the men were convicted. On August 21, 2009, Alexandria Library celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the Sit-In, considered to be the first Civil Rights Sit-In in United States History. During the 70th Anniversary Celebration, students from Samuel Tucker re-enacted the sit-in, Vice Mayor Kerry Donley read a Proclamation, and members of the media took pictures of the student re-enacting the photograph of the original young men being escorted from the library by police. |
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Alexandria Library Director Rose Dawson (far right) congratulates the students from Samuel Tucker Elementary School on their re-enactment of the 1939 Civil Rights Sit-In. |
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