Public in Name Only The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In Demonstration (Studies in Print Culture and the History of the Book) [] Mitchell-Powell, Brenda

Mitchell-Powell, Brenda

ISBN 10: 1625346581 / ISBN 13: 9781625346582

Published by University of Massachusetts Press, 2022

About this Item

Used Item. Does not include New Access Codes , Cd's or one time use items that come when New. This item is Used.

Seller Inventory # 162534657313122-KEPA-1214232255

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Public in Name Only The 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In Demonstration (Studies in Print Culture and the History of the Book) [] Mitchell-Powell, Brenda
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1625346581
• ISBN 13: 9781625346582
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Library History Round Table Reads Selection, March 2024
Alexandria Historical Society Special Merit Award, 2023

When Alexandria, Virginia’s first public library, was constructed just a few blocks from his home, Samuel Wilbert Tucker, a young, Black attorney, was appalled to learn that he could not use the library because of his race. Inspired by the legal successes of the NAACP in discrimination cases, he organized a grassroots protest to desegregate the library that his tax dollars supported.

Public in Name Only tells the important, but largely forgotten, story of Tucker and a group of Black citizens who agitated for change in the terms and conditions of their lives. Employing the combined strategies of direct-action public protest, nonviolent civil disobedience, and municipal litigation, Tucker’s initiative dovetailed with the national priorities and tactics of larger civil rights organizations. While Tucker’s campaign did not end with the desegregation of the Alexandria Library, but instead resulted in the creation of a “separate-and-unequal” Jim Crow Black branch, the sit-in demonstration represents a momentous early struggle for racial equity waged through civil rights activism.

About the Author

BRENDA MITCHELL-POWELL, who holds a PhD from Simmons University, is an independent scholar based in Alexandria, Virginia.