Civil Rights

The right to free speech, privacy, the ballot box, and fair court trials has never been fully extended to Black communities.

The Black experience in Northern Virginia began without freedoms. Africans first arrived in the 1600s as chattel (property), and the enslaved population grew in numbers in the 18th century. Although late 18th century Virginia allowed some enslaved people to gain their freedom, lawmakers tightened their grip in the early 1800s, passing laws to re-enslave free Black people if they did not leave the Commonwealth and prohibiting Black people, free or enslaved, from congregating. Northern Virginia became a center of the domestic slave trade, shipping enslaved Black people from the port of Alexandria to Southern destinations.

By the start of the Civil War, Virginia had the largest enslaved population of any Confederate state. Although the 1860s brought an end to chattel slavery and early Reconstruction expanded civil rights, the ensuing backlash of Jim Crow laws and practices terrorized Black families and quashed social, economic, and political rights. In Northern Virginia, those laws and practices affected every aspect of life. Black passengers were beaten on trolley cars for the slightest infractions, the Ku Klux Klan was active, and public lynchings occurred in Leesburg and Alexandria from the late 1870s into the early 20th century.

James H. Thomas, 23, of Washington D.C. boards the bus for a trip to Virginia on June 4, 1946, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Virginia law that mandated racial segregation of interstate buses. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
James H. Thomas, 23, of Washington D.C. boards the bus for a trip to Virginia on June 4, 1946, the day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Virginia law that mandated racial segregation of interstate buses. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Gwendolyn Greene (later Britt) sits at the People’s Drug Store counter during a sit-in protest in Arlington, June 9, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Gwendolyn Greene (later Britt) sits at the People’s Drug Store counter during a sit-in protest in Arlington, June 9, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Tinner family at their home in the late 1800s. Joseph and Mary Tinner bought land in Falls Church. In the early 1900s, Joseph Tinner and E.B. Henderson fought local segregation laws and founded the first rural branch of the NAACP in the United States. Tinner served as president. The construction of Lee Highway was routed through this enclave in the 1920’s. Source: Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.
Tinner family at their home in the late 1800s. Joseph and Mary Tinner bought land in Falls Church. In the early 1900s, Joseph Tinner and E.B. Henderson fought local segregation laws and founded the first rural branch of the NAACP in the United States. Tinner served as president. The construction of Lee Highway was routed through this enclave in the 1920’s. Source: Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.
Black men are arrested and led away by police after conducting a sit-in at the all-white public library in Alexandria, August 21, 1939. Alexandria Black History Museum.
Black men are arrested and led away by police after conducting a sit-in at the all-white public library in Alexandria, August 21, 1939. Alexandria Black History Museum.
Civil rights activist Dion Diamond is confronted at a sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Civil rights activist Dion Diamond is confronted at a sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Civil rights activist Dion Diamond is confronted by American Nazi Party chief George Lincoln Rockwell at a sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. Source: DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Civil rights activist Dion Diamond is confronted by American Nazi Party chief George Lincoln Rockwell at a sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. Source: DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Demonstrators staging a sit-in at a drug store lunch counter in Arlington, VA, are picketed by American Nazi Party (George Lincoln Rockwell's group) members. The sit-in people were trying to break down racial barriers at the drug store lunch counter. Photo by © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Demonstrators staging a sit-in at a drug store lunch counter in Arlington, VA, are picketed by American Nazi Party (George Lincoln Rockwell's group) members. The sit-in people were trying to break down racial barriers at the drug store lunch counter. Photo by © Wally McNamee/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
Arlington police officers search Dion T. Diamond (left) and Laurence Henry before charging them with trespassing for staging a desegregation sit-in at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Arlington on June 10, 1960. Source: DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Arlington police officers search Dion T. Diamond (left) and Laurence Henry before charging them with trespassing for staging a desegregation sit-in at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Arlington on June 10, 1960. Source: DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Civil rights demonstrators (also pictured to the left), seeking to be served at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Arlington, were led away by police after being arrested for trespassing. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Civil rights demonstrators (also pictured to the left), seeking to be served at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Arlington, were led away by police after being arrested for trespassing. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Young people influenced by the American Nazi Party confront Dion Diamond at a civil rights sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Young people influenced by the American Nazi Party confront Dion Diamond at a civil rights sit-in at the Cherrydale Drug Fair in Arlington, June 10, 1960. DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
1958 flyer on the ten requirements to become a qualified voter. The first is to “pay all poll tax due.” To remain a qualified voter, the poll tax had to be paid every year between November 5 and December 5. Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library
1958 flyer on the ten requirements to become a qualified voter. The first is to “pay all poll tax due.” To remain a qualified voter, the poll tax had to be paid every year between November 5 and December 5. Center for Local History, Arlington Public Library
An image entitled, “First Vote,” from the cover of the November 16, 1867 issue of Harper’s Weekly, depicts Black men proudly casting their votes. Library of Congress.
An image entitled, “First Vote,” from the cover of the November 16, 1867 issue of Harper’s Weekly, depicts Black men proudly casting their votes. Library of Congress.
Summary of speeches on October 17, 1901 by officials offering assurances that provisions of the constitutional convention would protect the white vote. University of Virginia Library.
Summary of speeches on October 17, 1901 by officials offering assurances that provisions of the constitutional convention would protect the white vote. University of Virginia Library.
Dion Diamond at the Drug Fair at Glebe Road and Pershing Drive in Arlington, June 23, 1960. Reprinted with permission of the DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Dion Diamond at the Drug Fair at Glebe Road and Pershing Drive in Arlington, June 23, 1960. Reprinted with permission of the DC Public Library, Star Collection © Washington Post.
Black newspaper announcing the June 3, 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Morgan v Virgina) striking down the state's Jim Crow ("JC") law that mandated racial segregation on commercial interstate buses. Source: Ferris State University.
Black newspaper announcing the June 3, 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Morgan v Virgina) striking down the state's Jim Crow ("JC") law that mandated racial segregation on commercial interstate buses. Source: Ferris State University.
Notice, from the 1950’s, that Virginia state law mandates racial segregation of buses. Source: Library of Virginia.
Notice, from the 1950’s, that Virginia state law mandates racial segregation of buses. Source: Library of Virginia.
Virginia Supreme Court Ruling, Lottie E. Taylor v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 1948, ruled in favor of Ms. Taylor. Source: Washington and Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons.
Virginia Supreme Court Ruling, Lottie E. Taylor v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 1948, ruled in favor of Ms. Taylor. Source: Washington and Lee University School of Law Scholarly Commons.
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Fast Forward

Freedom of movement is not fully possible when the innocent activities of daily life—from driving a car to entering a store, especially in mostly white areas—induce suspicion, microaggressions, and perceived threats to the physical safety of Black people. The chronic stress this induces among victims of discrimination has known harmful effects on physical and mental health. Too often, Black people face threats from law enforcement itself.

Leaders in Northern Virginia should ensure that all residents have a voice and can participate in decision-making and leadership. Initiatives aimed at improving the safety of people of color in Northern Virginia are urgent. No group should be victims of hate crimes and violence. Particular priorities are addressing systemic racism in law enforcement and criminal justice to eliminate racial bias in apprehension, conviction, sentencing, and incarceration. All law enforcement agencies in Northern Virginia should accelerate efforts to address implicit bias, eliminate police misconduct, and aggressively prosecute hate crimes. Some efforts are already underway. For example, in 2015, Fairfax County created an independent Police Civilian Review Panel and Independent Police Auditor, initiated a body camera program, and launched Diversion First, a program that offers alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness, developmental disabilities or substance use disorders. Sentencing reforms are also necessary, including those recommended in 2020 by Governor Northam’s Commission to Examine Racial Inequity in Virginia Law. Restorative justice is also necessary for formerly convicted people, including the removal of barriers to housing, employment, and voting.

Stories

Dig deeper into the topics by exploring the stories of the past that have shaped the present.

E.B. Henderson

Edwin Bancroft (E.B.) Henderson spent most of his childhood living in an integrated neighborhood in Washington D.C. But during the summer, he stayed with his

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The Syphax Family

When he was young, Stephen Hammond did not believe he was related to the family of George and Martha Washington. But when Hammond traced his

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See all Civil Rights Stories

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