$150K Grant to Aid in Digitial Preservation of Alexandria Library Sit-In Documents
ALEXANDRIA, VA-The story of the 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-in will be preserved for future generations. The National Historical Publications and Records Commission recently gave a $150,000 grant to New America, a national nonprofit think tank. New America will collaborate with Alexandria Library to digitize documents related to the historic event.
An Alexandria Library newsletter announcing the grant award indicates that most of the money will be subgranted to the library to help with the purchase of scanning equipment, digital cameras, and transcription software.
The plan “is to digitize an estimated 4,370 pages from these collections and make available approximately 4,400 image files through the Alexandria Library’s web pages and database searches,” according to the newsletter.
The Zebra Press has reported extensively on anniversaries of the Sit-In, which took place on Aug. 21, 1939. One article summarizes what happened that day.
Samuel W. Tucker, a lawyer, arranged for five Blacks to go to Alexandria Library (now the Barrett Branch at 717 Queen St.), a Whites-only institution. The group – William Evans, Otto L. Tucker (the attorney’s brother), Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, and Clarence Strange – was protesting “separate but equal” treatment. Tucker had previously attempted to gain equal access for Blacks. But until the sit-in, he had been unsuccessful. That day, one man asked for a library card, was denied one, then sat down to read his book. Soon, another followed. When library staff contacted police, Tucker, waiting in his office, learned that the protesters were to be arrested. He secured a photographer to document the moment and represented them during their release from police custody.
New America is also launching The 1939 Library Sit-In Project. This is described as “a multi-year digital initiative” that will uncover more about the event and put its legacy front and center. Part of that legacy is that the Sit-In is believed to be the first in this country.
Rose Dawson, the executive director of Alexandria Library, took part in a panel earlier this year at SXSW EDU in Austin, TX. Called Arrested for Reading, panel members discussed how to teach forgotten history and bring hidden stories out into the open.
Regarding the project, she said, “This partnership between New America and the Alexandria Library opens the doors of access and tells the story to a new generation, and we are excited to see where it leads.”
