August 21, 1939
In an action coordinated by a young black attorney, five African-American men applied for library cards in Alexandria, Virginia’s new library. When they were refused because of their race, each quietly took a book from the shelves, sat down and read. They were arrested for disorderly conduct. Their case went to court in September. In January a judge ruled that Alexandria must issue library cards to its Black taxpayers. Within days, hundreds applied. The city then immediately appropriated funds to build a “separate but equal” black library; it opened in April and was far inferior to the white library. The Alexandria libraries did not integrate until the 1960s.
