An Effort to Learn From and Amplify a Little-Known but Powerful Demonstration for Civil Rights in Alexandria, VA
In 1939, five young Black men peacefully demonstrated their right to read in the Alexandria public library, which at the time was declared to be for White citizens only. The men entered the library, requested library cards, and were denied. Instead of leaving, they chose books from the shelves and sat down to read, only to be arrested and escorted out by police.
Taking place well before the lunch counter sit-ins and bus boycotts of the 1950s and ‘60s, this event and the stories behind it illuminate the history of inequities still plaguing our education system and offer inspiring examples of how to overcome them. Since 2023, New America has been conducting research, recording video interviews, and developing events, digital exhibits, and teaching materials about this historic protest and what it can teach us today about access to books, educational materials, libraries, and schools.
Our advisors and partners include leaders at the Alexandria Library, the Alexandria Black History Museum in the Office of Historic Alexandria, New American History, and the Alexandria City Public Schools, as well as authors, historians, and national digital media experts. This project has been supported with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Virginia Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Join us for a conversation with librarians, teachers, museum curators, and scholars of public history who are using new approaches to amplify this American story of the Alexandria Library Sit-In and recognize the persistent drive for equal access to education that continues to this day.
A webinar on April 22, 2025 with experts from the Library of Congress, Maryland Public Television, Alexandria Library, New American History, and educators in the Alexandria City Public Schools and D.C. Public Schools. Features a tour of newly digitized source material available for all via the Alexandria Library’s digital special collections.
Join us at SXSW EDU to talk about this little-known demonstration for the right to read 85 years ago. Learn about the courageous youth who demanded access, setting a standard for later civil rights actions. Be inspired by today’s museum and library leaders working to set things right. Reflect on links to today’s book bans and their chilling effects. Featuring interactive activities to help you apply lessons in your hometown. Panelists include Audrey Davis, director of African American History for the Office of Historic Alexandria; Rose Dawson, executive director of the Alexandria Library; and Lisa Guernsey, senior editor in the education policy program and leader of the library sit-in project at New America, plus Jazmyne Owens, preK-12 policy advisor in education policy at New America, as moderator.
New America, a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank, has been awarded a two-year $250,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to develop an immersive digital exhibit on the 1939 Library Sit-In in Alexandria, Virginia. This civil-rights demonstration, unknown to most Americans, is the United States’ first recorded sit-in demanding desegregated access to a public library. The event, which led to the arrests of five young Black men for reading in a whites-only library, predates the protests of what is widely recognized as the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and ‘60s. It offers a window into actions that laid the foundation for human rights advances to come.
New America recaps a webinar that explored why digital primary sources are important and how they can be used to enhance student learning about history, particularly the history of the civil rights movement.
This digitization work in Alexandria is part of New America’s 1939 Library Sit-In Project. In the late summer of 2023 we received a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) to digitize thousands of documents in the library’s special collections, with more than two-thirds of funds going to the Alexandria Library to purchase equipment, hire interns, and enable staff to dedicate time to the project.
This 7-minute video describes the 1939 sit-in and what happened a year later in Alexandria, VA., spotlighting scholars and leaders in the City of Alexandria who have lifted up and commemorated the event. The video briefly explores why this story resonates today as students and families still seek equal access to knowledge and education.
Announcing new digital projects, including the digitization of thousands of primary source documents and the design of an online exhibit with educational resources.
Ten in-depth interviews with researchers and community members that add to the historical record and deepen today’s discussions of exclusion and inclusion in public libraries and schools.
In this opinion piece for The 74, Lisa Guernsey and Jazmyne Owens argue that while the details are different between blocking library access in 1939 and restricting books today, the impetus is similar: Today we are seeing a contemporary version of denying certain groups of people access to knowledge and ideas, especially groups who have been marginalized and ostracized, as well as the vast majority of Americans who cannot afford to purchase all the books they may need or want and therefore rely on public and school libraries.
Professor of History, Virginia Commonwealth University
Director of the African American History Division, Office of Historic Alexandria
Director, Alexandria Library
Director of Education and Outreach for New American History, University of Richmond
Education Research Fellow, PreK-12 program & CEO of Code Rising
Director of Rural Initiatives, Smithsonian Institution
Independent Scholar and Researcher
K-12 Social Studies Specialist, Alexandria City Public Schools