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Shaun Howard

“Am I Welcome Here?” An art exhibit about diversity and inclusion from international students’ eyes

Central Library, January 14 - April 29, 2025

Participating artists: Miki Nishida Goerdt, Yasmeen Houdaib, Youn Lee, Alexandra Rivera Rivera, Xinhang Xu, Chengjiaoyang (Valentine) Xue

We are a group of artists who have the experience of being international students in American colleges and universities. We left our home countries (Japan, Palestine/Kuwait, Puerto Rico, Korea, and China) to study in the United States. We share a passion for art therapy, and we believe art can bring people together. American universities and colleges seek out international students like us, not only to increase campus awareness of global issues, but also for promotional purposes and revenue generation. Although approximately one million international students are enrolled in American higher education, it is unclear what it means to truly welcome and support them once they arrive here.

According to published research on their experiences, international students often struggle to navigate the institutional communities they’ve been invited to join, dealing with issues ranging from differences between educational systems to language barriers and cultural differences. Students desire to “belong” within their new host environments, but they also report feeling caught between racial stereotyping and being ignored. Although they are not always seen as an equityseeking group, they experience real structural barriers. One study found that images of international students were used to celebrate diversity, but institutions’ strategic communications rarely addressed these students’ racial identities or their experiences of racism on campus.

We were invited to be in this country, but are we welcome here? With the art in this exhibition, we are exploring what it means to create an inclusive community with you. How do we include and support everyone? How do we cultivate a sense of belonging for all of us?

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Slima Shahati: Patchwork

Westover Library, Jan 3 - April 2025

Slima Shahati

As an artist, I create handmade patchwork pieces from fabric scraps. Each piece is carefully stitched together to form vibrant and unique designs. My work celebrates the beauty in small, forgotten materials, turning them into something new and meaningful. Through my art, I hope to show how even the smallest pieces can come together to create something beautiful.

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Zafri Yussoff: Neon Noir

Shirlington Library, January - April 2025

Artist's Reception: April 8, 2025, 6-8PM @ Shirlington Branch Library

Zafri Yussoff:

Various media have depicted what the future could look like. Some portray it as post-apocalyptic, a dystopia, or in neon. The latter has always been the most intriguing to me, as it gives a mysterious but technological feeling.
​
To create these images, I combined the photo acquisition of infrared with neon glow effects, through Adobe Photoshop. The purpose of infrared is to capture the natural light of any subject in a wavelength that is invisible to the human eye. The best time to capture infrared photos is at noon, on a sunny day in the spring or summer. The final aesthetic of each would result in monochrome, instead of color.
​
With the neon glow effects, learning a new technique in Photoshop was easy. I used the pen tool and set it to the color white. Next, I precisely clicked to pinpoint each corner or curve on any line that I saw. Finally, with each line finished, I set the outer glow effect to the color of my choosing, such as blue and pink. The consistency of them was important because this aesthetic was heavily inspired by the movie Blade Runner and video game Cyberpunk 2077, in which both are set in the future, featuring neon and noir respectively. Likewise, I chose the remaining colors to have a subtle presence, acting as the background.

Another reason for this aesthetic came from listening to lofi music and synthwave music (electronic microgenre). Whenever I listened, they would be interpreted as electronically peaceful and calming. With the presence of these luminous lights, the monochrome aesthetic allows me to see the world in a different way.

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Christine Williams: Art is My Therapy

Columbia Pike Library, January 4 - April 30, 2025

Artist Talk: March 2025

Christine Williams

My favorite materials to work with are yarn and canvas. Using yarn to create shapes and visually appealing pieces is therapeutic for me. Art has been known to help relieve stress, lower depression levels, and help to enhance critical thinking skills. My work definitely does all of those things and will benefit the community. I want my work to be an inspiration to others to pursue their dreams and to reassure them that the sky is the limit.

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Michelle Israel: Paintings

Aurora Hills Library, January 3 - April 30, 2025

Michelle Israel

Naturaleza Viva explores the intricate relationship between nature and my hometown, Mexico City, capturing the essence of both in vibrant, emotive compositions that weave together the past and present. Through my work, I aim to evoke a profound sense of nostalgia and belonging, celebrating the beauty of flowers, cacti, or landscapes and the memories they hold within them. I seek to highlight not only the visual splendor of these surroundings but also the emotional connections they foster within me and others who share similar experiences. Each brushstroke and color choice reflects my deep, personal connection to the natural world around me, inviting viewers to rediscover the familiar and appreciate the subtle, often overlooked wonders of our environment. My art serves as a reminder that nature is not just a backdrop but a living, breathing part of our daily lives, shaping our identities and leaving an indelible mark on our hearts.

The titles of each of my paintings are folkloric expressions from my beloved Mexico, reflecting not only the connection to the work but also how Mexicans use language as a playful art form. These expressions poetically capture the wisdom inherited from our abuelitas, with lessons often condensed into a single phrase or just a few words.

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Ken Beerbohm: Sculptures

Glencarlyn Library, January 3 - April 30, 2025

Ken Beerbohm

Growing up in a small town in Montana with few possessions, the mountain behind our house became a giant playground full of nature’s wonders from moss-covered rocks to spring creeks. My love of what nature could produce was firmly rooted. I would spend my retirement years combining that love with a passion to sculpt, with most of my works driven by humor, the one thing that keeps me somewhat sane in a not-so-sane world. If my works bring an observer to laugh, ponder or to appreciate, I have accomplished my mission.​

For more information contact Mr. Beerbohm at ken.beerbohm@gmail.com​

Learn More About Art Exhibits at the Library

Too Cool For Yule #17

Thanksgiving has passed, which means it’s time to share the latest edition of Arlington Public Library’s “Too Cool for Yule” playlist.

This annual tradition is personal. Every year, it reminds me of the thousands of hours I’ve spent listening to music and making and sharing playlists—on cassette, burned CDs and now streaming—for friends, family and you.

Like a book or a film, a playlist not only tells a story—it invites a range of responses from joy to sorrow and everything in between, expressing one’s feelings and emotions when words alone are not enough. It’s a gift that keeps on giving like the collections found in libraries, always bringing together people of all ages and for all occasions.

As 2024 runs out the clock, we hope you will take a moment to relax, gather with family or friends, grab a favorite beverage and give a listen to “Too Cool for Yule.”

We hope you’ll be moved to sing along with the tunes you know and hum along to those you don’t. And if you make it to the end (and we hope you do), you’ll find a song that speaks for me at this place and time.

From all of us at Arlington Public Library, we wish you and yours a joyful season’s end and a peaceful new year.

Always Free. Always Open. Always Listening.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director
Arlington Public Library

Our Lady Queen of Peace

November is Black Catholic History Month. Take some time to read about Arlington’s historic Black Catholic church.

Founding member Mrs. Alice Moorman breaking ground for Our Lady Queen of Peace.

Founding member Mrs. Alice Moorman breaking ground for Our Lady Queen of Peace, September 20,1946. Behind her is Clarence Brown. From the OLQP website.

On a warm, green September day in 1946, Mrs. Alice Moorman, wearing her Sunday best, struck a shovel into the ground while her neighbors and priests looked on. She paused and posed for a picture – this was a moment they would want to remember for a long time to come.

Here, in the Nauck neighborhood at S. Edgewood and 19th St., is where they would build their church, Our Lady Queen of Peace (OLQP).

OLQP was born from a shared faith and resistance against racist attitudes that Black Catholics encountered in Arlington. The local Catholic Church at that time, Saint Thomas Moore, was not welcoming to Black parishioners. They were segregated to the balcony of the church and were served communion last.

Saint Mary’s in Alexandria (the oldest Catholic church in Virginia) was more welcoming, but because buses didn’t run on Sunday, it was inaccessible to those without a car. Some traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend the historically Black St. Augustine, but even then, Black Arlingtonians faced discrimination on public transportation.

In 1945, 16 Black Catholics came together and petitioned Bishop Ireton of the Diocese of Richmond to establish a church in Arlington County where they could worship in dignity. They were Joseph Bowman, Clarence and Selena Brown, Alice Butler, Lawrence and Jessie Butler, Irma Carter, Hattie Ellis, Mary Fernanders, Edward Marshall, Grace McGwinn, Edward and Alice Moorman, Constance Spencer, Sophia Terry and Thaddenia West.

Even before they had a church to worship in, the 16 founding members began holding mass in their homes. Father Joe Hackett celebrated their first mass on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 1945. Two years later, on Pentecost Sunday, June 15, 1947, Bishop Peter Ireton dedicated Our Lady Queen of Peace.

The exterior building for Our Lady Queen of Peace.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, 2700 S. 19th St. Photograph taken August 25, 1996. From PG 202: The Palmer Collection: Arlington Structures and Places, 1996-2006.

Jackie Smith and her family were among the earliest members of OLQP. In 1952, her mother Lena Alfred converted to Catholicism and joined the church. She became active in numerous groups, including the sodality (a lay devotional society), credit union and choir. In an interview with Jackie, who became an active parishioner herself, she recalled cooking with her mother for fundraiser dinners at OLQP.

SMITH: In 1952, Mama said we were going to become Catholic.

INTERVIEWER: And why did she make that decision?

SMITH: Well, I guess because, she had friends, you know, like Mrs. West or others who were Catholic. I mean, she liked the Catholic religion better. I don’t know all her reasoning, and I never really asked her “Why did you do that?” Maybe one of my siblings know, but I don’t know.

INTERVIEWER: You weren’t invited to make a decision?

SMITH: No, I mean I did what my mom said. We’re going to Our Lady Queen of Peace, and we’re going to become Catholics. And that’s what we did.

INTERVIEWER: And did they join various groups in there? Did your mother join the sodality?

SMITH: My mother joined the sodality. My mother was on the credit union. She was on the credit union’s supervisory committee. My mother was in the choir, you name it. And my mother was very active. I’m sort of like her, my mother was on quite a few committees in the church. Yes.

INTERVIEWER: And did you find that other families were active too?

SMITH: Yes.

INTERVIEWER: So they were part of a really good team, weren’t they?

SMITH: Good team. Yeah. And when we first came up here at Our Lady Queen of Peace, they used to have dinners, fundraisers. In the back of the church, there was a kitchen. And some of my fondest memories was working with my mom, frying chicken or whatever for the fundraiser and making money for the church.

INTERVIEWER: Tell me what they served at that fundraiser.

SMITH: They would have fried chicken and greens and potato salad, desserts, and those kinds of things like that.

INTERVIEWER: Real good Southern cooking.

SMITH: Southern cooking. That’s a great way to put it. And there would be a group of women, Black women. Cause at that time, the church was totally Black.

INTERVIEWER: Totally Black?

SMITH: Black. Yeah. Until the 1960s when the diocese changed the boundaries of the church, to include Columbia Pike and all the other surrounding areas, then it became a little bit more mixed. But at first, it was all Black.

The church officially integrated in the 1960s, but a few white families joined earlier on. Theresa Quinnan Fitzgerald became one of the first non-Black members in the mid-1950s when her parents decided to leave St. Thomas Moore and join OLQP.

Theresa’s early memories of OLQP are defined by the colorful personality of Father David Ray, who joined the church in 1958 and guided it through integration. Under his leadership, OLQP established a large multipurpose Family Activity Center, a daycare center and the Matthew 25 thrift shop to provide free clothing and resources to the community. Fr. Ray was also known for his ministry to LGBTQ Catholics.

INTERVIEWER: That’s the priest who was the great orator? 

FITZGERALD: Mhmm [affirmative]. 

INTERVIEWER: He was very well, very much admired. 

FITZGERALD: He’s the one who, people, they would come from Dupont Circle, from as far as Dupont Circle. 

INTERVIEWER: From the gay community that he serviced there. 

FITZGERALD: But at the time, nobody knew about this community. 

INTERVIEWER: Right. 

FITZGERALD: It was still hush-hush. 

INTERVIEWER: Pretty underground? 

FITZGERALD: Pretty underground, yeah, exactly. 

INTERVIEWER: Tell me more about Father Ray as a personality.

FITZGERALD: He was a huge personality. He was military man. I think he was a retired army colonel. And he was, he was in this very, very poor, you know, sent to this very, very poor parish, and I think it was quite an adjustment for him, to be in this poor parish. But he was out there in the community, he was a great talker, a great hand-shaker. He would, you know, go to the local drug store, corner store, and get in conversations with people. There was no stopping him, he was just a big personality.

Over the decades, OLQP has continued to grow and expand its ministry. In the 1970s, during a wave of immigration following the fall of Saigon, Vietnamese Catholics began joining the parish. Beginning in the 1980s, OLQP saw an influx of Latino parishioners. Spanish mass is celebrated weekly to this day.

The thriving parish, now home to a diverse community of over 1,500 families from all walks of life, carries forth the legacy of 16 brave Arlingtonians who set out to create a safe and welcoming space to practice their faith.

Sources:

Jackie Smith interview - Charlie Clark Center for Local History Oral History Project

Our History - Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church

Theresa Quinnan Fitzgerald interview - Charlie Clark Center for Local History Oral History Project

Timothy Hickey interview - Charlie Clark Center for Local History Oral History Project

Help Build Arlington's Community History

The Charlie Clark Center for Local History (CCCLH) collects, preserves and shares resources that illustrate Arlington County’s history, diversity and communities. Learn how you can play an active role in documenting Arlington's history by donating physical and/or digital materials for the Center for Local History’s permanent collection.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Charlie Clark Center for Local History.

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Edu-Futuro: Preserving Latino Culture in Arlington

September 15th marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated through the middle of October. We're taking this opportunity to share a CCCLH collection that highlights the history and culture of Arlington’s Latino communities – the Katharine Panfil Records of Edu-Futuro.

A group of students of Escuela Bolivia.

Students of Escuela Bolivia, ca. 2001. 

In 1998, a group of Bolivian parents and teachers in Arlington came together to address a pressing concern that the children in their community would forget the language and traditions of the home they left behind.

They consulted with Bolivian Ambassador Marcelo Pérez Monasterios and met with Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools Robert G. Smith to collaborate on an academic enrichment program that could meet the needs of Arlington’s rapidly growing immigrant population. Thus, Escuela Bolivia (later renamed Edu-Futuro) was born.

Escuela Bolivia began as a Saturday morning academic program that provided Spanish and mathematics education to Latino students. It was also a space for students to learn about Bolivian culture, listen to Bolivian music, eat Bolivian foods, and meet other Bolivian children. The program supported parents as well, offering classes in English and computer skills.

A promotional flyer for Escuela Bolivia Saturday School in Spring 2015.

Promotional flyer for Escuela Bolivia Saturday School, 2015. From RG 394: Katherine Panfil Records of Edu-Futuro.

One of the founding members was educator and longtime Arlington resident Emma Violand-Sanchez. Born and raised in Cochabamba, Bolivia, she came to Lorton, VA, in 1961 at the age of 16 while her father was in political exile—part of the first major wave of immigration to Northern Virginia which occurred during the Bolivian National Revolution. When she enrolled as a senior at Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Violand-Sanchez was the only Latin American student.

She earned a four-year scholarship at Radford College, where she majored in foreign languages and education, graduating in 1966. After spending time teaching in Bolivia, Violand-Sanchez returned to the U.S. to pursue a doctorate from George Washington University. During her studies, Arlington Public Schools hired her as a bilingual resource teacher for Patrick Henry and Key Elementary School.

Dr. Violand Sanchez.

In an interview, Dr. Violand-Sanchez expressed her sense of belonging in Arlington: “I can be as American as apple pie as well as Bolivian as salteña.” Photo from Arlington Historical.

A lifelong proponent of bilingual education, Dr. Violand-Sanchez became supervisor of the school system’s English for Speakers of Other Languages/High-Intensity Language Training (ESOL/HILT) program. She was the first Latina teacher in Arlington and later became the first Latina member of the Arlington County School Board.

In the 1980s, Arlington’s Bolivian population continued to grow. As Bolivia suffered from hyperinflation, families sought better opportunities and a higher quality of life in the United States. Many who immigrated in the 1980s were of Quechua descent, most of them hailing from the Valle Alto region of Cochabamba, from towns like Tarata, Arbieto, Cliza, Punata and Tolata. By 2000, Arlington was home to the largest Bolivian community in the United States.

Students of Edu-Futuro, 2012.

Students of Edu-Futuro, ca. 2012.

In this excerpt from a 1999 interview with Dr. Violand-Sanchez, she talks about the many Bolivian community organizations in Arlington at that time, in addition to the Escuela Bolivia program she helped create:

“...We have many community-based organizations that maybe many people don't know about. For example, in the Bolivian community we have several organizations such as the Bolivian Soccer League, we have the Bolivian Cultural Society, we have the Comité pro Bolivia that has more than twenty-four folkloric groups. For the National Day celebration of August 6 [Bolivia Independence Day], we may have as many as 6,000 Bolivians at Wakefield High School. We have a lot of regional committees from Bolivia such as the Comité pro Tarata, which is one region in Cochabamba that has their own group...”

Students and teachers at Edu-Futuro, from the program website.

Students and teachers at Edu-Futuro, from the program website.

Over the years, Escuela Bolivia has continued to expand, becoming an important hub for both the Arlington and Fairfax communities. In 2011, they renamed the organization Edu-Futuro to better reflect the diverse communities they serve, while still maintaining close ties with the program’s Bolivian roots. Today, Edu-Futuro provides countless programs to enrich the education and culture of their students, from college prep to workforce development and civic engagement.

Sources:

 

Call for Donations

The Charlie Clark Center for Local History (CCCLH) seeks community donations of a variety of materials to help document the rich, vibrant history of the Latino community in Arlington County. REAL, or el Re-Encuentro de Arlington Latinos, is a multi-year collecting initiative born out of a desire to include more documentation of the Latino community’s history in the CCCLH’s Arlington Community Archives. Community archives play a vital role in documenting all voices of a community. Learn more about how to participate here.

Help Build Arlington's Community History

The Charlie Clark Center for Local History (CCCLH) collects, preserves and shares resources that illustrate Arlington County’s history, diversity and communities. Learn how you can play an active role in documenting Arlington's history by donating physical and/or digital materials for the Center for Local History’s permanent collection.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Charlie Clark Center for Local History.

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Happy Birthday to Smokey Bear!

Rudolph Wendelin, Arlingtonian and artist for the U.S. Forest Service, was Smokey’s “caretaker” for decades. Celebrate Smokey’s birthday by learning about the artist that made him the bear he is today.

Smokey Bear turned 80 this month!

The beloved fire safety icon was created by the U.S. Forest Service during World War II, when wood was a particularly precious natural resource needed to fuel the war effort. To combat the prevalence of human-caused forest fires, the Forest Service established the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) program in 1942. The CFFP adopted Smokey as its official symbol two years later when artist Albert Staehle created the first depiction of a caring, protective, hat-wearing bear named Smokey.

The original smokey bear drawing.

The first Smokey Bear poster created by Albert Staehle, 1944.

Many artists followed Staehle in depicting Smokey Bear. Prominent among these was Rudolph (Rudy) Wendelin, whose paintings of Smokey spanned his career with the Forest Service and continued long after his retirement in 1973. Wendelin softened and humanized Smokey's features, making the character more appealing to children, to whom much of the fire prevention campaign was directed.

Born to Austrian immigrants in 1910, Wendelin grew up in Ludell, Kansas, and attended public school in Herndon, Kansas. He began drawing at an early age and was soon earning prizes for his cartoons at county fairs.

After dropping out of the University of Kansas during the Great Depression, Wendelin was hired as a draftsman for the Forest Service regional office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started drawing maps, manuals and guides for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a New Deal government work relief program. When his exhibits of CCC camps and wildlife conservation projects drew national attention, Wendelin was transferred to Washington, D.C., in 1936.

Rudy Wendelin with his paint brushes.

Rudy Wendelin, among his paint brushes, date unknown. From the Sierra Club website.

After a stint as a Navy artist during World War II, Wendelin returned to the Forest Service in 1946 and was given responsibility for the Smokey Bear project. He went on to create thousands of Smokey depictions that highlighted natural resources, conservation and forest fire prevention.

Wendelin made Smokey a household name, distributing artwork across the country, hosting talks at schools, and creating ads for newspapers, radio, and television. His work earned him many awards, including the Medal of Honor presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Horace Hart Award from the graphic arts industry, and both the Silver and Gold Smokey Bear Awards from the U.S. Department of Agriculture —which he himself had designed.

Smokey Bear in the forest with a gold medal.

“Nature’s Gold Medal Winner.” Painted by Rudy Wendelin in 1988. From the USDA National Agricultural Library Special Collections.

While Smokey Bear’s residence was in D.C. (at his very own zip code, 20252), Wendelin lived across the Potomac with his wife Carrol Bergman at 4516 N. 7th Street in Arlington.

Outside of work, Wendelin was an active board member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and painted religious themes in addition to landscapes and cartoons. He marched alongside his wife in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom as a member of the Lutheran Human Relations Association of America.

In the 1970s, Wendelin also devoted his artistic abilities to protesting the construction of Interstate 66 in the name of protecting his community from automobile pollution and overreliance on fossil fuels. Writing frequently to the editors of the Northern Virginia Sun, he passionately decried what he saw as the shortsightedness of the I-66 project regarding environmental impact.

a cartoon about the changes regarding 1-66.

A political cartoon by Rudy Wendelin on the proposed plans for I-66. Published in the Northern Virginia Sun, August 14, 1973.

Wendelin worked with community organizations like the Arlington Coalition on Transportation (ACT) to envision more sustainable alternatives to I-66. He drew up designs that emphasized public transportation, walkability and green space. After much debate, the highway was built and opened in 1982. But Wendelin’s illustrations offer a glimpse into Arlington as the artist and environmentalist imagined it could be.

A painting of nooks.
A painting of a sculpture garden.
a painting of two people riding bicycles.

Three of ten colored sketches done by Wendelin depicting ACT proposals for the I-66 corridor. From RG 379: Arlington Coalition on Transportation (ACT) Records, 1958-2001.

In both his professional and personal life, Wendelin used art to communicate the importance of preserving nature. His legacy lives on, most of all, in the enduring and endearing figure of Smokey Bear.

Sources:

Help Build Arlington's Community History

The Charlie Clark Center for Local History (CCCLH) collects, preserves and shares resources that illustrate Arlington County’s history, diversity and communities. Learn how you can play an active role in documenting Arlington's history by donating physical and/or digital materials for the Center for Local History’s permanent collection.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Charlie Clark Center for Local History.

Center For Local History - Blog Post Message Form

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

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