Learning from a 1939 Library Protest

A Conversation on New Efforts to Highlight an American Story Illuminating the Fight for Civil Rights and Access to Education

August 21, 2026
12 pm - 1 pm ET
Online only

As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Americans are grappling with how to honestly examine our country’s history and make sense of how it applies to the world today. The story of the Alexandria, Virginia library sit-in of 1939, the first recorded sit-in to demand racial integration, offers a fresh chance to explore our past. Thanks to new grant funding, efforts are underway to build online exhibits, digitize materials, and engage communities to talk about this little-known story.

How do these efforts enrich our understanding of the evolution of the United States’s civil rights movement? What can they reveal about how demonstrations and legal efforts have shaped access to opportunity? 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 and recognize the persistent drive for equal access to education that continues to this day.

Speakers include:

• Ted Johnson, director of the Us@250 Initiative at New America and a columnist for The Washington Post
• Audrey Davis, director of the African American History Division of the Office of Historic Alexandria
• Rose Dawson, executive director of the Alexandria Library
• Annie Evans, director of Education and Outreach, New American History at the University of Richmond
• Lisa Guernsey, senior director of birth through 12th grade policy at New America
• Nancy Noyes Silcox, author of Samuel Wilbert Tucker: The Story of a Civil Rights Trailblazer and the 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In
• Jennifer Over, vice president, Reingold, a communications and web-development firm in Alexandria, VA
• Jazmyne Owens, consultant on New America’s 1939 Library Sit-In Project

With deep thanks to the funders of New America’s 1939 Library Sit-In Project, including the Mellon Foundation (2026-2028), Virginia Humanities (2024-2025), the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (2023-2024), the National Endowment for the Humanities (2023), and the Hewlett Foundation (2022-2024).

Below this line is not yet ready for publication on the website but we will add a version of this once finalized:

Agenda

12 pm
Welcome and framing by Lisa Guernsey

12:05 pm
Ted Johnson on the Us@250 themes of pride, reckoning, and aspiration, and how they relate to the story of the 1939 library sit-in

12:10 / 12:15 pm
Showcasing new efforts to tell the story of the sit-in

These would be mini conversations moderated by Jazmyne Owens, with Jazmyne asking questions to tee up brief answers from speakers. Throughout this part, we will have someone provide links in the online chat so that guests can read more about the efforts. We would also have a few slides with visual information about these exhibits and resources.

Part 1: Preservation and Digitization (10 min)

• Audrey Davis on the Alexandria Black History Museum’s exhibits, outdoor plaque, and significance of the building itself
  • With note about New America’s video interviews of Audrey, Rose, Nancy, and many others involved in keeping the story alive
• Rose Dawson on Alexandria Library’s many years of anniversary events and the recent NHRPC grant with New America to digitize the collection of primary sources

Part 2: Making the Story Accessible to Students (10 min)

• Annie Evans, on the Virginia Humanities grant to develop an interactive storymap and lesson plans for K-12 students
• Nancy Silcox on her book for middle-schoolers and how it continues to be used in schools and communities around the country

Part 3: An Exhibit for the Public, Reaching National Audiences Online (10 min)

• Lisa Guernsey, with Audrey and Rose, on the new Mellon grant and the work underway to develop an interactive exhibit for the public
• Jennifer Over of Reingold to talk briefly about how visitors will engage with this upcoming exhibit

12:45 pm
Q-and-A from Audience

12:55 pm
Final reflections from speakers

1 pm
Conclude