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Ronald (Ron) Deskins: A Quiet Pioneer for Civil Rights

The Center for Local History reflects on the passing of Ronald Deskins, a pioneer of the Civil Rights movement in Arlington County.

In Defiance of Massive Resistance

At the young age of 12, Ron Deskins played a crucial role in integrating Virginia public schools. On Feb. 2 1959, Deskins, along with classmates Michael Jones, Gloria Thompson, and Lance Newman, entered then all-white Stratford Junior High in quiet but determined defiance of Virginia Senator Harry Byrd’s policy of Massive Resistance.

This historic moment – often referred to by the press at the time as “The Day Nothing Happened” owing to the lack of violence – is now marked by banners at Dorothy Hamm Middle School, housed since 2019 at the original site of Stratford Junior High School.

"I was pretty nervous that first day," Deskins said at a 2016 tribute to the actions taken in 1959. He went on to mention that a few students "made it their business to make our lives miserable…They were not successful…Although they called us plenty of names."

Three police officers stand at the entrance to Stratford Jr. High School as the four black students enrolled in the previously all-white school arrive for classes in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 3, 1959. One of the officers records the scene with a movie camera. Approaching the entrance are, left to right, Lance Newman, 13, Ronald Deskins, 12, Michael Jones, 12, and Gloria Thompson, 12. (AP Photo)

Edward Hummer, a fellow Stratford and W-L student, interviewed Ronald Deskins for induction into the W-L Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. At the time, Deskins was volunteering at a public library in Berryville, VA. Hummer recalled the experience of speaking with Deskins about his life:

“I was struck when I read about his very first reaction upon entering his first classroom...The four black kids were taken in a rear door to escape the throng at the front door…the other kids in Ron's homeroom were already seated and had been prepared for his arrival. When he was escorted in a few minutes after the bell, all their heads naturally turned to him as he entered. His first thought on seeing all those heads turn his way was to say to himself, "It's just me."

Ronald Deskins, Michael Jones, Lance Newman, and Gloria Thompson walked into Stratford Junior High School on February 2, 1959. (AP Photo)

Dorothy Hamm Assistant Principal Lisa Moore remarked that it is "our expectation, for all our students and staff to know this history. The history that took place in this building, they need to know that, and live that."

"Our hearts are devastated," Moore added. "This was a huge loss for our community."

Mr. Deskins’ self-effacing manner was typical of his attitude towards his accomplishments and the contributions he made during his lifetime, including his role in the integration of the Fairfax County Fire Rescue Department. Mr. Deskins was the fifth Black firefighter employed by Fairfax County and he helped establish Northern Virginia Minority Firefighters Combined. He eventually achieved the rank of Captain and retired after 34 years of service.

Edward Hummer remembers the man who thought of himself as just me as “quite a guy. It was a great pleasure and a great honor for me to get to know him so many years later when he was inducted into the W-L Athletic Hall of Fame. I am greatly saddened by his death.”

The Center for Local History (CLH) at the Arlington Public Library collects, preserves and shares historical documents that tell the history of Arlington County, its citizens, organizations, businesses and social issues.

The CLH’s Community Archives includes thousands of pages of material related to the desegregation of Arlington Public Schools, and makes these materials available to students, researchers, scholars, authors, teachers and the community.

To learn more visit the Project DAPS website and read the 2018 blogpost, The Desegregation of Arlington Public Schools.

Because there are always more layers of history to find and examine, the CLH continually seeks community donations and oral histories; use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History or contact us at localhistory@arlingtonva.us.

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Commemorate Juneteenth at The Library

Arlington Public Library is commemorating Juneteenth with two local author talk events and its Black Voices booklists. Join us in person on June 22 for Amina Luqman-Dawson and on June 23 for Wilma Jones. All are welcome.

All events made possible thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

Amina Luqman-Dawson

Wed., June 22, 6:30 p.m - 7:30 p.m., Shirlington Library

Join us for a conversation between local author Amina Luqman-Dawson and Library Director Diane Kresh.

Luqman-Dawson's highly acclaimed middle grade historical novel "Freewater" is an exciting tale of escape from slavery and refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp, which is located in the Coastal Plain Region of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

This event is great for families and children, Grades 4 and up.

Free book raffle. Additional books from the author will be available for purchase during the event. Cookies will be served.

Special Promotion: Enjoy dinner at Stellina Pizzeria before or after the event and receive 20% off your total bill.

RSVP

Wilma Jones

Thu., June 23, 6:00 p.m - 7:30 p.m., Central Library

Join us for a book talk with local author Wilma Jones while she discusses her book, "My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood."

The Halls Hill community is rooted in pre-Civil war plantation history. By the early 1900s the neighborhood became 100% African American. Many of the residents were descendants of enslaved people. The Black communities in Arlington were consistently fighting Jim Crow racism while working to raise their families with dignity and respect.

This event is suited for both adults and children, Grades 6 and up.

RSVP

Black Voices Booklists

Explore our Black Voices and Juneteenth booklists and learn about African American culture, history and issues facing us today.

Arlington Public Library maintains a variety of diverse booklists, titled “Books Like Us: Diverse Voices Booklists,” designed to create awareness, to entertain and to educate about people, history and timely topics.

Black Voices
Juneteenth Booklist

The Community Quilt Project

Calling All Makers

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert at sewing, Arlington Public Library invites you to take part in a Community Quilt Project. Use your imagination and creativity to contribute your distinct design and artwork to create a unique cloth quilt square. The theme is “Oceans of Possibilities."

Photo close-up of a sewing machine.

Design and sew a 6.5-inch x 6.5-inch cotton fabric piece. You can create the cloth quilt square at home or during Open Lab hours at The Shop, located at Central Library.

Drop off your finished quilt piece at any library location between June 1- September 1. The community quilt will be assembled at The Shop and put on display at the Library in the fall.

What You Need To Know

Need help with a design or have no sewing experience?  A variety of free equipment is available for public use during Open Lab at The Shop. Staff are always on hand to answer questions and offer help.

  • No sewing experience necessary 
  • Participation age limit: Grade 6 and older 
  • Completed size: 6.5-inch x 6.5-inch square 
  • Material: 100% cotton fabric 
  • Source: Use any cotton fabric you have at home or visit The Shop and use the materials supplied by the makerspace (limited supplies available, until they run out) 
  • The square design needs to reflect the Summer Reading theme “Oceans of Possibilities.” 

Resources

A community quilt is a collaborative sewing project where each block is created by a different member of the community. 

Learn More About The Community Quilt

Participate in Free Sewing and Quilting Events 

Events will be held at The Shop, located at Central Library. Registration is required.

Missed a class? No problem.
The Shop is recording some of its programs. Check them out on YouTube.

The Shop

Milton Rowe: Dedication to Country, Community and Family

Roots, Family and Legacy

Milton Isiah Rowe, Sr., (1925-2016) was born in Washington, D.C., to Hester and Isiah Rowe. His family moved to South Arlington, a community where they had longstanding family ties, in 1927, when Rowe was a young child.

With this move, Milton Rowe began his long life as a Green Valley resident. Over the next 89 years he served in many community and civic roles across the County, and became part of an Arlington legacy.

Milton Rowe

Family Ties in Arlington

Milton Rowe's great-grandfather was William Augustus Rowe (1834-1907), a pivotal figure in the early development of the Green Valley neighborhood. William Rowe had been born enslaved, and later escaped to Freedmans Village in Arlington.

Freedmans Village was established in 1863 on land seized from Robert E. Lee and occupied by the Union Army during the Civil War and became a thriving community for freed slaves.

Ink painting on brown canvas of Freedman's Village

Artist representation of Freedmans Village, circa 1864.

William Rowe first trained as a blacksmith and later served in numerous civic roles, including as the first Black member of the Board of Supervisors and Arlington District Board Chairman.

Learn more about William Augustus Rowe in our blogpost from March, 2021.

Map of Freedmans Village, circa July 1865.

William Rowe

A portrait of William A. Rowe currently hangs in the Center for Local History.

Growing up in Green Valley before WWII

Milton Rowe first attended Kemper Elementary School in Green Valley. At this point, Arlington’s public school system was still segregated. Kemper was the school designated for Black children, and had opened in 1875 within Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church.

By 1893 the school had moved into a new brick, two-story building constructed by Noble Thomas, the first Black contractor in the County. Hoffman-Boston School was the only secondary school available to Black children in Arlington, and many chose to commute outside of the County for educational options.

Rowe attended Garnet-Patterson Junior High School and Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C., for his secondary education. Armstrong was one of only two high schools open to Black students at the beginning of the 20th century

During and After WWII

After high school, Milton Rowe went on to work at the Pentagon and subsequently enlisted into the Coast Guard, where he served on the USS Pocatello during WWII.

Upon his honorable discharge, Rowe returned to the Arlington area to work at the Pentagon and on March 31, 1945 married Ruth Mae Robinson, who also worked at the Pentagon as a typist. They were married in Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church, the church William Rowe and his wife Ellen helped organize in 1863 and where William Rowe had also been an early member.

Milton Rowe, date unknown.

Ruth and Milton Rowe went on to have four children – Gloria, Milton, Jr., Elroy and Brian (as of June 1, 2022, there are 2 daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, 12 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and 3 great, great grandchildren).

In 1995, Milton and Ruth celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Ruth died in 2004.

Ruth and Milton Rowe.

The Rowe Family at Ruth and Milton's 50th wedding anniversary party.

Paul Dunbar Housing Community

Milton and Ruth Rowe were early owners of a home in the Paul Dunbar housing community in Green Valley, a wartime housing unit for Black residents built in 1944 by the Federal Public Housing Authority. They featured 15 masonry buildings with 86 units.

The Dunbar Homes were one of two major housing cooperatives established during the war, along with the George Washington Carver Homes. After the war, Black residents pooled their resources and bought the housing complexes, establishing the first two Black-owned housing cooperatives in the country. The Dunbar Mutual Homes Association maintained the property until 2006, when it was demolished.

In 1955, the couple built and relocated the family into a home near the Army Navy Country Club in south Arlington.

A historic marker celebrating the original members of the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Mutual Homes Association is located at the corner of Shirlington Road and South Four Mile Run, across from the W&OD Trailhead.

Professional Butler for Embassies and the White House

Rowe retired from the Pentagon after 37 years of service with the army, receiving many letters of commendation for his outstanding performance of duty.

He continued his career as a professional butler, a second job he held throughout his working life.

In this role, he worked at various embassies and the home of Robert F. Kennedy in McLean. There, he remembered meeting John F. Kennedy, whom he once loaned a pair of boots to on a snowy Virginia day. 

Rowe also served at numerous events at the White House, where he met many of the presidents of the 20th century. 

Rowe at work at the White House.

White House butlers with President George W. Bush and his wife Barbara .

Community Engagement

Milton Rowe was active in the Green Valley community and served on the Trustee Boards and various committees at Lomax A.M.E. Zion.

He was also a member of the Nauck Citizen’s Association (now the Green Valley Civic Association), the Arlington Housing Committee, the NAACP, the Y.M.C.A., the American Legion, and several seniors’ groups. He was also an advisor to his sons’ Boy Scouts Troop #589, which has a historic legacy as one of the first local scouting groups for Black children, established in 1952 by Ernest Johnson.

A February 17, 1962, Northern Virginia Sun article mentions Milton Rowe’s role as chairman of the Men of Lomax organization, along with details from a church event. Newspaper image courtesy of Virginia Chronicle.

In 2010, NBC reported on Milton Rowe in a feature about the legacy of Freedmans Village on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. The cemetery was constructed on the grounds of Freedmans Village, which had been closed by the government in the 1890s to make way for the burial grounds. The closure of Freedmans Village displaced the nearly 1,000 Black residents who had made their homes there. No markers exist to commemorate the freed slaves who had once lived on the land.

Milton Rowe’s life touched many important parts of the County’s history, and his legacy lives on through his many achievements and experiences that made him a pillar of both Green Valley and Arlington at large.

Learn more: Milton Rowe is featured in Dr. Alfred O. Taylor’s book “Bridge Builders of Nauck/Green Valley: Past and Present.”

The Center for Local History at the Arlington Public Library collects, preserves and shares historical documents that tell the history of Arlington County, its citizens, organizations, businesses and social issues. The CLH operates the Research Room at Central Library and the Community Archives program.

Because there are always more layers of history to find and examine, the CLH continually seeks community donations and oral histories.

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History or contact us at localhistory@arlingtonva.us.

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Arlington Public Library Celebrates Pride Month

Arlington Public Library will host several LGBTQIA+ programs in June and spotlight the “Diverse Voices” LGBTQIA+ booklists at all branches in celebration of Pride Month this year. Pride Month recognizes the impact that LGBTQIA+ individuals have had on our history — locally, nationally and internationally.

Join the Library for a Pride 2022 Kickoff event with Cake Society (May 28). Listen to a virtual talk with author and transgender educator Alex Myers (June 13). Participate in a fun discussion of LGBTQIA+ themed books (June 27) and learn about the history of the Pride flag (June 28). All library programs are free and made possible thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.

Library patrons are invited to explore the Library’s diverse LGBTQIA+ booklists, ranging from trans and nonbinary voices, to the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, to picture Books with LGBTQIA+ families and movies with LGBTQIA+ characters.

Arlington Public Library maintains a variety of diverse booklists, titled “Books Like Us: Diverse Voices Booklists,” designed to create awareness, to entertain and to educate about people, history and timely topics. Handpicked by our librarians, these curated lists are updated continuously and encourage readers to explore a wide variety of themes and topics ranging from Pride, Black Lives Matter, Latinx voices and many more.

Pride Month

2022 Summer Reading: Oceans of Possibilities

June 1 - September 1

Washington Nationals Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle.

2022 Summer Reading Offers Hundreds of  "Oceans of Possibilities" Programs, Fun Prizes and Inspired Booklists for Everyone!

On June 1, 2022, Arlington Public Library will kick off its annual Summer Reading program which is made possible through the support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library and the Washington Nationals. Between June 1 and September 1, readers of all ages are invited to immerse themselves in reading, participate in 500 free programs and to explore the 2022 theme "Oceans of Possibilities."

Summer Reading

Win Washington Nationals Tickets And Meet Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle

For each reader who completes the Summer Reading challenge the Washington Nationals will offer one voucher (good for two tickets) to select baseball games in August and September (while supplies last).

The Library will offer a special storytime with Washington Nationals Summer Reading Ambassador Sean Doolittle on June 18, starting 10 a.m., at Central Library. Help us celebrate the Library's partnership with the Washington Nationals by welcoming Sean Doolittle. This program is for children and families. Attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.

RSVP for Storytime with the Washington Nationals

Read for A Cause

For each successful Summer Reading completion, the Friends of the Arlington Public Library will donate $1 to Potomac Conservancy, a local non-profit fighting to ensure the Potomac River boasts clean drinking water, healthy lands and vibrant communities. On June 4, the Potomac Conservancy invites the community to participate in several clean-up events.

Volunteer with the Potomac Conservancy

Participate in Hundreds of Free Summer Reading Programs

Between June 1 and September 1, the Library will offer over 500 free events for all ages and interests. Join us for Summer Reading celebrations at all seven branches during our kickoff weekend on June 4 - 5. No registrations are needed for the following Summer Reading kickoff events:

Saturday, June 4

Aurora Hills Library, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
This interactive program combines activities such as read-aloud stories, songs, rhymes and fingerplays. Join us after storytime for a bubble party. Sea glass craft making from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
MORE

Central Library, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Summer Reading Kickoff events to include games, treats, workshops, and prizes, including storytimes plus Q&As featuring Arlington children's book authors:

  • 1:00 p.m.: Camille and Kennedy Watkin, authors of "My Best Friend, Grandpa"
  • 1:30 p.m.: Nadia and Arrington Conyers, authors of "From Lee Highway to Langston Boulevard"
  • Scavenger hunt activities with EcoAction Arlington
  • 1:30 - 2:30 pm: Kona Ice Truck will offer free snow cones (while supplies last).

MORE

Cherrydale Library, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Children will enjoy a coloring activity, refreshments and prizes.
MORE

Glencarlyn Library, June 4, 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Celebrate Glencarlyn Day with indoor family storytime and finger puppets followed by a moon bounce and snow cones on the Carlin Hall grounds.
MORE

Shirlington Library, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Celebrate the beginning of Summer Reading with a sweet treat from the Kona shaved ice truck, art and games! We’ll have a signup table and various activities.
MORE

Westover Library, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Children and families are invited to storytime, a bubble bonanza and free snow cones from the Kona Ice Truck.
MORE

Sunday, June 5

Columbia Pike Library,  2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Celebrate the beginning of Summer Reading with a sweet treat from the Kona shaved ice truck! We’ll have a signup table, games and a craft activity.
MORE

Find More Programs

Lubber Run Performing Arts Series

Throughout the summer, Arlington Public Library and Arlington Arts will host a Lubber Run Performing Arts Series on select Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Lubber Run Amphitheater, located at 200 N. Columbus St.

Meet Grammy award winning children’s performer Dan Zanes and Haitian-American jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes. Set sail with "Talewise"and join him on a thrilling action-packed adventure involving a crew of quirky pirates. Learn about conductor Cody’s Railroad Submarine where anything can happen with a bit of magic. And enjoy a modern rendition of a children's classic "Three Not So Little Pigs," presented by Blue Sky Puppet Theatre. All four programs are free and presented in partnership with Arlington Arts.

Free COVID-19 Rapid Antigen At-Home Test Kits Available on a First-Come, First-Served Basis

In collaboration with the Arlington County Department of Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management, all libraries and community centers are offering free, at-home COVID-19 rapid tests during normal business hours, in addition to the County’s no-cost, no-appointment PCR COVID-19 testing.

A limited supply of tests is available on a first-come, first-served basis at Library service desks. Tests may not be available at all Library locations.

Neither proof of County residency nor a library card is required, and the test kits are free of charge.

Each box comes with two test kits and is limited to one per customer. Test kits are free of charge and provided by Arlington County. Each distribution site will dispense kits while supplies last.

To find out more how to use the free test kit, visit the iHealth web site. For additional information about Arlington County COVID-19 services and resources, visit the COVID-19 web page.

 

 

Oral History: Gertrude “Trudy” Ensign

U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst During World War II

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Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

1920-2022

The life of long-time Arlington resident Gertrude "Trudy" Ensign was recently memorialized at Clarendon United Methodist Church. Born October 4, 1920 on a farm in southwest Iowa, Ensign left Iowa to take a job with the Army Security Agency (a precursor to the NSA) during World War II, settling in Arlington, where she lived until her death on February 28, 2022.

In November 2017, Ensign recorded an oral history with the Center for Local History. She spoke about her work during the war, as well as life in Arlington.

In this excerpt from the oral history, she talks about her work during the war. While not a code breaker herself, Ensign worked in Army communications.

Link to oral history blog post.

Col. Mosser presents Mrs. Gertrude C. Brown (Ensign) with an Outstanding Performance Rating Award on 30 March, 1971 at Arlington Hall Station (from reverse of photo)

Narrator: Gertrude Ensign
Interviewers: Judith Knudsen
Date: November 6, 2017

INTERVIEWER: Well, when you say there were people there, they were cracking Japanese code. That was not your job.

NARRATOR: Yes. Not my job.

INTERVIEWER: So what codes were you getting? Were you getting the codes that had been cracked, and then you had to encipher with the—

NARRATOR: Okay. This is the part that I think we have to understand, that none of this could happen if we didn’t have field stations.

INTERVIEWER: Okay.

NARRATOR: Because that’s where our intercept came from. Like Vint Hill Farm was an intercept station, and they had a whole field of antennas up out in the field. There were field stations in the Pacific, and there were field stations in Alaska. I think there were some in Europe, too. It made sense. If not field stations, then they had some other options. Maybe they had direction-finding stations, which, you know, you have a unit with direction equipment, maybe 180 degrees, and if you all were pointing at this thing, then you would be able to intercept—find a station, an enemy station you were looking for, and be able to intercept them.

INTERVIEWER: Okay.

NARRATOR: And if you could do that, then you could identify the location, because you were getting the signals from different locations based on where you were. So that was really the part that—our part of what happened at ASA [Army Security Agency]. I mean, we knew that there was a whole building called B Building where they were trying to break the codes. But that was not any of what we were concerned with. When the codes were broken I guess they went wherever they were supposed to go, which would have been, you know, teletyped there someplace else. But anything that we—most that we handled was administrative and keeping the field stations open and things like that. After the war we probably had more like regular communications, because we’d have the commanders of the different field stations come back in. At that point I had moved to a different job, because when—during the war there was no question about you having a job there. But when the war was over, one of the bosses came out to me one day and said, “You know, the war’s over, and the boys are coming back. They said there’s a gentleman here in the area that has the same qualifications you do, because he worked in the field during the war. And he has a promote—he can take your job,” in other words. But they said, There’s a job open down in what we call GAS50, and you can go down and apply for that job. Well, it sort of took me by surprise, of course, but that’s exactly what I did. That job then, the gentleman that interviewed me said, “Well,”—I think I was a GS6, 00:11:00 and he said, “You’ll have to take a break to a GS5.” But then he said, “When you get your promotions, it’ll be a GS5-7-9-11-13,” and so that’s what I did then. So when I retired I was GS13, which was a very nice grade.

INTERVIEWER: Yes, it is a very nice grade.

NARRATOR: It left me a very nice income.

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, make an appointment to visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

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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Arlington Public Library Receives Large, One-Time Increase to its Collections’ Budget

On April 26, 2022, the Arlington County Board adopted the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and allocated $543,000 in one-time funding to the Arlington Public Library’s collections starting
July 1, 2022.

The budget increase will support the Library‘s aim to reduce wait times across the collections, re-engage the community after a two-year pandemic through creative programming, and invite more readers to explore the Library’s titles and participate in its various services.

"The additional funds will allow us to get more books into more hands, more quickly," said Library Director Diane Kresh. "A well-stocked, diverse collection benefits the entire community." 

With the budget increase, the Library will add 12,000 titles to its circulation and drastically reduce wait times for popular eBooks and eAudiobooks. "Our top priority is to ensure patrons have access to books and information in multiple formats," said Kresh. "Patrons should be able to read and access information, when and how they want it.”  

The demand for electronic titles is at an all-time high with an increase for eAudio titles by 210% and for eBooks by 98.5% respectively. 

In addition to reducing wait times for electronic titles, the Library plans to expand three existing popular collection services:

  • Provide additional print and eBook titles for the "Grab & Go" express book collection.
  • Increase the "Always Available" eBook and eAudiobook collection.
  • Expand the volume of Spanish language books.

Explore the Library’s collections and discover all its booklists.

Browse Booklists

Download the Arlington Public Library App, get 24x7 access to the Library’s collections and discover upcoming programs, such as Summer Reading launching June 1.

Download Library App

To find more information about the adopted $1.50 billion balanced Arlington County General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2023, visit https://www.arlingtonva.us. 

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

2022

In 1978, a joint congressional resolution established Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.

The first 10 days of May were chosen to coincide with two important milestones in Asian/Pacific American history:

  • The arrival in the United States of the first Japanese immigrants (May 7, 1843)
  • Contributions of Chinese workers to the building of the transcontinental railroad completed May 10, 1869

In 1992, Congress expanded the observance to a monthlong celebration, now known as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.

(Source: Census.gov blogpost: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: May 2022)

AAPI month square

Books Highlighting Asian American / Pacific Islander Experience - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Explore over 20 hand-picked book lists for all ages and interests, featuring fiction and non-fiction titles by contemporary authors. Topics range from history and politics to civil rights, from picture books to graphic novels, sci-fi, romance, mystery and more.

Asian and Asian Heritage Romance

Viet Nam

Asian American Pacific Heritage: Food

Asian in America

Asian and Asian American Authors: eBooks and eAudio

Events at the Library

Little Saigon Walking Tour

Writer Kim O'Connell takes us on a journey through a part of Clarendon once named "Little Saigon," drawing on her personal story to tell part of Arlington's history.

The project, “Echoes of Little Saigon,” was made possible with a generous grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) and support from Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development; Arlington’s Historic Preservation Program in the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development; and the Arlington County Library’s Center for Local History. Read Kim's writing on her website.

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