Taking a Stand / Speaking Out

William T. Syphax: Taking a Stand

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change.

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

William T. Syphax

Native Arlingtonian William Thomas Syphax (1920-1989) was a prominent Black business entrepreneur, philanthropist, and advocate for the Black community in Arlington County.

Born into Arlington’s venerable Syphax family (which included his great uncles William Syphax and John B. Syphax), Syphax earned a bachelor’s degree in math from Virginia State in 1942, a master’s degree in engineering administration from George Washington University, and eventually a Ph.D. in behavioral philosophy from Pacific Western University. After a stint with the Army Air Force during WW2, he worked for the Department of Defense as an electrical engineer until 1964.

Margarite and William Syphax, spring 1957.

In the mid-late 1950s before his retirement from the Department of Defense, Syphax and his wife Margarite began building houses in Arlington. After seeing how many Blacks in Arlington County had to accept unsafe and inadequate conditions in the predominantly segregated Northern Virginia housing market, the couple began to concentrate on building well-crafted and affordable homes for their community.

Together, with William as developer and Margarite as secretary-treasurer, they founded Ballston-based W.T. Syphax Real Estate Co. and Syphax Management Co., ranking among the nation’s top 100 Black-owned businesses in the early 1970s and were profiled in Newsweek and Black Enterprise magazine. They built homes in Arlington View (where William had grown up), Highland Park, Green Valley and elsewhere. Their first apartment complex was Arlington View Terrace, a 77-unit complex of garden apartments near Army Navy Country Club.

William T. Syphax and Margarite Syphax "Working Together" at their construction firm, 1960s.

Syphax was president of the Virginia Real Estate Brokers Association, chairman of the Arlington County Building Code Board of Appeals, as well as serving as director of the Arlington County Red Cross. He provided financial assistance to over 100 students from the segregated Hoffman-Boston public school for their college education and was music department chairman and senior choir director at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington.

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Edmund Campbell: Speaking Out

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Edmund Campbell

Edmund Douglas Campbell (1899–1995) was a lawyer, social activist, and Arlington County Board member who advocated for civil rights, school desegregation, and state representation according to population. Campbell vehemently opposed Virginia’s policy of “Massive Resistance” which occurred in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954 and 1955, along with his wife Elizabeth, Campbell fought to ensure that Arlington's public schools remain open by organizing the Save Our Schools Committee (comprised of parents and citizens from across Virginia) in defiance of Senator Harry F. Byrd and his allies.

Edmund Campbell sitting at his desk, date unknown

Among his other accomplishments, in 1955, Campbell won a case that overturned a Virginia law prohibiting racially integrated seating in public places. In 1958, following the closure of schools in Norfolk, Charlottesville, and Front Royal, he successfully argued as the lead attorney in James v. Almond, finally ending Virginia's “Massive Resistance" laws that had forced the closing of all public schools which Federal courts had ordered to integrate. Following that decision, the first Black students entered Stratford Junior High School on February 2, 1959.

In the lawsuit Davis v. Mann, the Supreme Court decided in 1964 that Campbell successfully argued that Arlington and Fairfax counties were illegally under-represented in the Virginia legislature, finding that legislative apportioning gave less populated rural areas more legislative influence per voter than more densely populated Northern Virginia as a result of the 1960 census.

In his memoir “Musings of a 95-Year-Old”, Campbell said, "I could not live with myself if I did not stand up publicly for what I knew was right."

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George Melvin Richardson: Taking a Stand

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

George Melvin Richardson

George Melvin Richardson (1913-2015) was an African-American educator, school principal, WW II U.S. Army officer, and civic leader. Born in Oklahoma, Richardson graduated from Langston University, Oklahoma’s only historically Black college, and then attended Columbia University in New York where he obtained a master’s degree.

George Richardson, Secondary School Administrator Arlington, VA

A subsequent series of positions in education and public schools in Oklahoma helped lay the groundwork for what was to become a lifetime of educating and mentoring students in his community. After being drafted during WW II, Richardson was stationed in Italy, where he was an Army lieutenant and captain.

Upon returning to the U.S., Richardson and his wife moved to Arlington County where he served as principal of the all-Black Hoffman-Boston High School from 1951 until its closure in 1964. Noticing that Hoffman-Boston lacked many of the facilities and resources of other Arlington County schools, Richardson worked tirelessly to improve and expand the school. In an oral history conducted by staff of the Center for Local History, Richardson said that Hoffman-Boston “wasn’t equipped as well as other schools. Our science department wasn’t equipped as well...We didn’t have an auditorium – the building was not adequate.” His air of quiet authority and steely determination deeply impacted both colleagues and students.

“Hoffman-Boston School,” Richardson said, “There’s a golf course there. The kids will leave their lunch period and won’t come back…They’d go there (and caddy) and get little sandwiches and so forth… I said “You’re here for school. And you’re here for this number of hours.”… I went to the golf course and I told them that I didn’t want them to employ these kids…they belong in school and not at a golf course. So they stopped that.”

George Richardson talking with several younger Hoffman-Boston students.

Richardson was also a pivotal figure in helping to create the Arlington View Neighborhood Conservation Plan (one of the first in the county) and was a member of the executive board of the Arlington Committee of 100. After Hoffman-Boston closed in 1964, Richardson became an assistant principal at Wakefield H.S. and served as an educator in Montgomery County, MD. before retiring to Oklahoma.

Richardson received the Charles P. Monroe Civil Rights Award from the Arlington branch of the NAACP, was inducted into the Wakefield High School Hall of Fame, and received the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Greater Washington Urban League.

Assistant Principal, Counselor, Mr Richardson

George Richardson, right, with the Assistant Principal and councilor at Hoffman-Boston, seated at a table.

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John Robinson: Taking a Stand

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

John Robinson

John Robinson (1934-2010) was a dedicated community activist who chose to stay and work in the Green Valley neighborhood where he was born and grew up. He attended Howard University, served in the U.S. Army, and worked briefly with Martin Luther King. Inspired by King and his work, he founded and was director of the Dr. Marth Luther King Jr. Community Center in Green Valley for over 40 years.

A strong believer in equal rights for all, Robinson provided help to those in need whatever their race or age, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The Center organized clothing and food drives, provided counseling on drug abuse and assistance for low-income people living in Green Valley, as well as other educational programs.

He was there for the community whether it involved drug-related issues, gang violence, or neighborhood conflicts, and his door was always open, sometimes even providing shelter for the homeless in the Center, especially during the winter.

For four decades, Robinson published the Green Valley News, often distributing it door-to-door himself, to help keep residents informed of events in this predominately African-American neighborhood.

John Robinson

Over the years Robinson was recognized for his many achievements from organizations such as the Northern Virginia Branch of the Washington Urban League, Arlington Branch of the NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and was a recipient of the William L. Winston Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Arlington County Bar Foundation. He was also instrumental in the planning of the Arlington County Action Program in the 1960s.

Robinson died in 2010 at age 75. In. 2020, the Arlington County Board officially named the town square in Green Valley the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square in his honor.

Rendered image of the John Robinson, Jr. Town Square

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Kathryn Stone: Speaking Out

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Kathryn Stone

Kathryn Stone, the first woman from Northern Virginia elected to the Virginia General Assembly, was one of a small minority of voices in Virginia that courageously fought against the state’s policy of “massive resistance” to school desegregation. Arguing to keep the public schools open and begin desegregation, she accused long-time proponent of segregation, Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. and his organization of fostering “a spirit of lawlessness and disrespect for constitutional government.”

"Vote for Kathryn Stone" flyer

A solitary voice, she warned the General Assembly against passing a series of bills aimed at stopping the NAACP from bringing desegregation lawsuits to court which, she argued, curbed freedom of speech and assembly:

“You are stooping in panic as you desert the Bill of Rights, which was born in the mind and hearts of the greatest Virginians.”

As a lawmaker, Stone also played an influential role in the creation of the Virginia community college system and was a leader in legislation to improve youth services, mental health, education, and welfare, but first and foremost, she will always be remembered as a symbol of progressive change and as an undaunted champion of the cause to end segregation in the schools.

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Leonard “Doc” Muse: Taking a Stand

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Leonard “Doc” Muse

Leonard “Doc” Muse (1923-2017), was an African-American pharmacist and social activist, and the owner of Green Valley Pharmacy, a neighborhood institution whose importance extended far beyond that of a typical pharmacy.

Memorial program for Dr. Leonard Muse, 8/26/2017

Muse was born in Florida, served in World War II, and then used his GI benefits to attend the Howard University School of Pharmacy. In 1952, along with partner Waverly Jones, he purchased the property which was formerly Hyman’s Grocery, and opened the Green Valley Pharmacy. In addition to being a drug store and filling prescriptions for the neighborhood, it functioned as a gathering place featuring a lunch counter which provided free meals every Wednesday afternoon and on occasion providing free prescriptions for those unable to afford them.

With this role in the community came the challenge of dealing with myriad interests and pressures, but Muse negotiated these rough waters with determination and skill.

Green Valley Pharmacy

In an oral history conducted by the Center for Local History, when asked about his motivation to become a pharmacist, Muse said:

“Oh, it’s a long story. I was a kid, and the lady next door…asked me to go and get a prescription filled for her…I got there, I was tired, and I went to sit down, and that guy told me, “You can’t sit here.” So I went out and sat on the sidewalk until they filled the prescription. And I had the idea, I said, well, we need a pharmacy where we can sit wherever we want to –“.

Green Valley Pharmacy was named as a Historic Landmark by the Arlington County Board in 2013, and Muse received a Community Appreciation Award from the Arlington NAACP, and continuing to work and be a constant presence until his death in 2017.

Green Valley Pharmacy 2008

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Fire Station #8: Taking a Stand

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Hall's Hill Pumper

Fire Station #8

With a history that goes back over a century (est. 1918), it’s impossible to overstate the role that Fire Station #8 has played in the lives of the citizens of Hall’s Hill and Arlington County. Facing underfunding, inadequate and outdated equipment, and institutional and individual prejudice, the firefighters stood up and faced down these and, other challenges, setting an aspirational standard for generations to come.

The following excerpts from an interview with former Fire Dept. #8 firefighter Lt. Hartman Reed depicts the struggles faced at that time:

“What can I say about the vehicles that we had were very old. Now, this is 1952 when I first came on, the fire trucks were a 1928 and a 1932 trucks...I’m not sure we even had a windshield on the thing...They wanted to say that you didn’t have the ability. Being black you didn’t have the ability, the courage, the knowledge...some of the dispatchers were that nasty, I guess you want to say, not to send you (to the fire)...we had a fire in our jurisdiction. We were first do right behind us, somewhere… I wasn’t on the fire, but I knew the other shift rode it - went. We were told when we changed shifts.

They went on the fire and the man’s house was on fire, and wouldn’t let them in. He wouldn’t let anybody in until…the second do company, which was either Falls Church or Cherrydale came in there, and they had to put the fire out. This man was going to let his house burn down before he let us go into his house. It was that bad.“

East Arlington VFD

Further reading:

https://library.arlingtonva.us/2015/08/04/legacy-halls-hill-vfd-and-station-no-8/

https://library.arlingtonva.us/2018/02/27/oral-history-interview-with-firefighter-julian-syphax/

https://arlingtonfirejournal.blogspot.com/2018/02

Fire Station 8, 2209 Culpeper St

Fire Station 8, 2015

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Charles Rinker: Speaking Out

A Tireless Proponent for Fair and Affordable Housing

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change.

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Charles Rinker

Charles Rinker (1940-2015) was a tireless proponent for fair and affordable housing in Arlington County. His reach also extended to Alexandria, Falls Church, and Fairfax County in Virginia as well as Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland.

His ability to meld economic savvy with public advocacy and popular sentiment made him a powerful and highly effective presence in organizations he helped found and establish such as AHC, Inc. (Arlington Housing Corp.), Arlington New Directions Coalition, A-HOME (Arlington Home Ownership Made Easier), TOAC (Tenants of Arlington County) and BRAVO (Buyer and Renters Arlington Voice).

Never reluctant to confront institutional resistance, Rinker’s ethos could perhaps best be summarized by his statements:

“If private profit is made in such a way as it deprives others in the society of the necessities of life—food, shelter, clothing, health, etc.—then it’s wrong, no matter what face one tries to put on it.”

“Ultimately we need more than the criticism of friends and neighbors to deter the displacement of low-and-moderate income households…but moral indignation from the community would be a good start.”

TOAC (Tenants of Arlington County) pamphlet

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Portia Haskins: Taking a Stand

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Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Portia Haskins

In 1965, Hall’s Hill/High View Park resident Portia Haskins filed suit against the Virginia Board of Elections and the Arlington County general registrar after learning she was required to re-register in order to vote in the upcoming election, despite having already paid her poll taxes in February and having registered for federal elections the previous year.

On April 1, 1966, in the case Portia A. Haskins v. Levin Nock Davis et al., a Federal District Court ruled in Haskins’ favor arguing that “[t]he provisions of Virginia’s dual voter registration…which treat persons who are registered only for federal elections differently from persons registered for all elections violate the equal protection laws of the 14th Amendment.” This landmark decision eliminated what was essentially a selectively administered and enforced poll tax imposed chiefly on African-American voters in Arlington County.

Photograph of Portia Haskins. Date of Photo Unknown.

Recent events have shown that progress is a process and part of an ongoing struggle. Accomplishments both great and small are seldom an endpoint but are a constant series of steps forward which cannot be taken for granted.

Portia Haskins has recently completed and published a book on the history of Mt. Salvation Baptist Church.

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Dr. Roland Bruner: Taking a Stand

"He provided free medical services to the most disadvantaged in Arlington..."

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change.

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Dr. Roland Bruner

Dr. Roland Herman Bruner (1902-1978) was an obstetrician, lecturer, and the first African-American doctor to be hired by Arlington County’s Department of Health’s Prenatal Clinic in a time of bigotry, racism, and segregation.

Bruner received a Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University in 1928 and a Medical Degree in 1932. One of just 24 students to receive the offer of an internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington D.C., he joined the staff thereafter completing his internship.

On July 29, 1934, Bruner and his wife Georgia purchased a property in Green Valley/Nauck at 2018 S. Glebe Rd. where he opened a private practice specializing in obstetrics. This allowed African-American women to deliver children in Arlington rather than having to travel to the Freedmen’s Hospital in the District of Columbia. He bartered with patients and often provided free services to the most disadvantaged, even delivering babies at the homes of people turned away by a segregated medical establishment.

Dr. Bruner examines a patient while a nurse assists.

Dr. Bruner and a nurse perform an obstetrics exam for a patient at the Arlington County Department of Health, 1938. Image had the caption "Prenatal Clinic" under it in the 1938 Rural Health Conservation Scrapbook. Photo Source: RG 21, Records of the Arlington County Department of Health: 21-1-"1938"-9

In 1935 Bruner became a part-time member of the clinical faculty of Howard University College of Medicine, where he would serve until 1951. He became a notable lecturer in the fields of women’s health and prenatal care and in 1938 he became the first African-American doctor employed by Arlington County’s Department of Health’s Prenatal Clinic. Bruner also played a vital role in the establishment of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Arlington. With a private practice spanning 45 years from 1933-1978, Dr. Roland Herman Bruner served multiple generations in his community.

In 2001, Arlington Housing Corporation (AHC) purchased Dr. Bruner’s home from the Bruner family, renovating the property into a development comprising 7 townhomes known as Bruner Place. The home was relocated on the property.

Bruner's daughter, Dr. Denise E. Bruner, is a practicing physician in Arlington County specializing in bariatrics and anti-aging.

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Taking a Stand / Speaking Out

William T. Syphax

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Edmund Campbell

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George Melvin Richardson

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John Robinson

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Kathryn Stone

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Leonard “Doc” Muse

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Fire Station #8

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A Tireless Proponent for Fair and Affordable Housing

Charles Rinker

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Portia Haskins

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"He provided free medical services to the most disadvantaged in Arlington..."

Dr. Roland Bruner

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