The Virginia Public Library Directors Association (VPLDA) has awarded the Alexandria Library the “Outstanding Public Relations Award” for the 75th Anniversary of the 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In public awareness campaign. The Alexandria Library received the award for public libraries in communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia serving populations over 80,000.
The 75th Anniversary of the 1939 Alexandria Library Sit-In public awareness campaign spotlighted the peaceful protest in 1939 by five African American men, who were charged with civil disobedience for quietly reading books after being denied library cards. Last fall, a culminating event was held on Aug. 21, 2014 – where the protest originally took place 75 years ago – at the Kate Waller Barrett Branch on Queen Street.