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Director’s Message: To Daffodils!*

Post Published: April 3, 2025

Spring is springing and signs are everywhere. The cherry blossom trees outside my office windows bloomed pink, turned brown and now are on their way to green.

The Central Library tennis courts are packed each afternoon with student players, the gardens have been mulched (like old books, a smell I love), and daffodils, from Lady Bird Johnson Park off the George Washington Parkway to my backyard, are standing tall, trumpeting renewal and rebirth.

A cluster of white daffodils with bright yellow and orange centers in full bloom outside Central Library. The flowers are framed by fresh green leaves, with the library building and budding spring trees visible in the background.
A cluster of daffodils in front of Central Library.

April is one of the Library’s busiest months. The Friends of the Arlington Public Library's Spring Book Sale starts today through April 6.

We celebrate National Arab American Heritage Month with books sharing the rich heritage and culture of many of our Arlington coworkers, neighbors and friends. A favorite author of mine is Moroccan American novelist Laila Lalami whose latest book “Dream Hotel” I am in the middle of reading. I interviewed Lalami a few years ago about her mystery/thriller “The Other Americans,” a National Book Award finalist.

till image from a virtual author talk featuring Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh and author Laila Lalami. The split-screen format shows Kresh on the left in an office with posters and books, and Lalami on the right smiling in front of a full bookshelf. The screen footer reads 'Arlington Reads: Laila Lalami' with logos for Arlington Public Library and Friends of the Arlington Public Library.
Arlington Reads with Laila Lalami presented April 22, 2021.

April is National Poetry Month, and we are taking a moment to salute outgoing poet laureate Courtney LeBlanc who has been a faithful and inspiring friend of the library during her tenure. Courtney’s latest book, “Her Dark Everything’ comes out this month.

Earth Day turns 55 on April 22 and we will host a series of programs including “Fix Nearly Anything,” making mini terrariums and garden talks. And The Truck will be on the road again joining Langston Boulevard Alliance's Earth Day Every Day celebration.

Arlington Public Library’s turquoise and white library truck parked at National Night Out in Green Valley. A group of library staff and community members chat and smile at a table covered with library materials and giveaway items. The tablecloth displays the Arlington Public Library logo and the slogan "Everyone Has a Story."
The Truck at National Night Out in Green Valley on August 1, 2023.

National Library Week is April 6-12 and we cap off the week with the Human Library. Check out a human book and learn what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. This is our third time hosting this event and our book collection offers varied and compelling “reads.”

A smiling participant at a Human Library event speaks with a visitor. The participant wears a white shirt that reads 'I am a book of the Human Library at Arlington Public Library' and a nametag labeled 'Rav.'
A Human Library patron speaks with a "book" at Central Library on April 13, 2024.

The FY26 Budget for Arlington County is adopted this month. Thank you to the many patrons of the Library who contacted the County Board during the budget process.

We are humbled by the many kind comments we received and by the love you give us each day by checking out books, attending one or more of the 5000+ programs we offer annually, booking rooms for scout meetings, tax assistance, and book clubs, transferring family photographs to digital media in the Shop, volunteering and helping us make Arlington the community we are proud to call home.

A smiling librarian offers assistance at Central Library's upstairs information desk.
A librarian offers assistance at Central Library's upstairs information desk.

There is a lot happening in our community and in our world and much of it is stressful. With wellness programs, resume writing and budgeting workshops and many others, we have devoted space, time and resources to assist federal employees who either have lost, or are concerned about losing, their jobs. For however long we are needed, we will be there to support federal workers and their families.

Four individuals sitting down at a table with Arlington Public Library labeling as a woman is at a podium speaking.
A Federal Employee & Contractor Town Hall at Central Library on March 6, 2025.

You can count on us to present facts and multiple perspectives, preserve your stories, be an active third place where everyone is welcome and can be in community with one another. And stand tall.

Like the daffodils.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

*In celebration of National Poetry Month, enjoy my inspiration for this message: Robert Herrick’s poem “To Daffodils.” 

April 3, 2025 by Christopher George

Glencarlyn Library’s 101st Birthday

Post Published: March 11, 2025

Opened in the fall of 1923, Glencarlyn Library celebrated its 101st birthday with a rededication and all-ages celebration on September 21, 2024.

Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey, Arlington Public Library Deputy Director Anne Gable, Glencarlyn Civic Association President Brandon Hemel and Glencarlyn Library Centennial Celebration Chair Julie Lee all celebrated the library's storied century as a hub for nearby communities.

Patrons shared heartfelt stories—sometimes spanning generations—of what this library, community and milestone mean to them.

Willa

"I've never seen so many books before in my life!"

Glencarlyn's first page

"I think that the love of the library is so important to an individual, and particularly to young people and to children, that I would hope that all of them could have that close experience that I did."

Julie Lee

"Glencarlyn Library is so very important to me because it has been a part of my family for generations."

Colleen Lunsford and Órla Lunsford

"Thank you to the librarians who keep those books on the shelves and give us suggestions about what to read."

"Thank you, library, for all the books you let me borrow!"

Adriana & Maxine Backus

"Everywhere you look in the community, you realize that Glencarlyn is what it is because, at some point, somebody cared a lot."

Barbara McMichael

"Back then, in the middle of the library, they had these big boxes that stuck out, and they were full of cards. And they held something that we learned was called the Dewey Decimal System."

Lynn Green Robinson

"We moved into this neighborhood in 1958, and this library was a little white house. It was my favorite place on the face of the earth."

Marie Wilson

"As a child, our family came to the library once a week at least. And sometimes, if we were really bored, we asked to come more than once a week because we would have read all the books that we took home the weekend before."

J Vic Funderburk

Infamous FBI agent-turned-Russian asset Robert Hanssen "would come in and pick up a post and sit at one of the tables, holding the newspaper in such a way that it appeared that he was reading it... It became increasingly obvious that he was not reading it!"

Susan Walsh

"Our experience of this library really shaped who we became. We love books, and we want to share that."

March 11, 2025 by Christopher George

Director’s Message: Celebration of All Women

Post Published: March 6, 2025

March is designated Women’s History Month by presidential proclamation and honors the contributions of women to our nation’s history.

Photos of Ellen M. Bozman, Margaret Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, Mary Marshall, Dorothy Hamm and Evelyn Reid Syphax.
From left to right: Ellen M. Bozman, Margaret Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, Mary Marshall, Dorothy Hamm and Evelyn Reid Syphax.

Our community of Arlington has been enriched by the work of women leaders and activists, whose impact has been felt in civil rights, education, government and human services, and whose names grace our public buildings and spaces: Ellen M. Bozman, Margaret Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, Mary Marshall, Dorothy Hamm and Evelyn Reid Syphax.

We have been similarly honored to be home for giants of the music industry and note the recent passing of Green Valley resident, the incomparable Roberta Flack.

American singer and pianist Roberta Flack (1973).
American singer and pianist Roberta Flack (1973).

The Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and the Military Women’s Memorial remind us that women have served in the military with courage and distinction.

Arlington government and leadership is committed to work toward a gender equal world, free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world where people live openly and authentically and where difference is appreciated

Photo of participants interacting with vendors during the 2024 Women's Maker Fair at Central Library.
Participants interacting with vendors during the 2024 Women's Maker Fair at Central Library.

Every day, librarians and volunteers at Arlington Public Library open our doors to welcome patrons and community members of all backgrounds. Libraries are third places where all can belong and simply be in community with one another. Places where continuous learning and self-discovery are limitless, and connections with our neighbors are strengthened.

However you identify, be it as a member of the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community, immigrant or New American—we serve everyone. And we do so through books, library spaces and free programs generously sponsored by the Friends of the Arlington Library (FOAL).

As we commemorate Women's History Month, I am proud Arlington Public Library provides welcoming, inclusive spaces to celebrate and support our collective and varied identities and cultures.

Thank you for your support of Arlington Public Library and for helping us be all we can be for everyone.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

Composite of four book covers.

PS: If you are a reader, here’s a gift (Diane's 2025 Picks) for Women's History Month from me to you.

March 6, 2025 by Library Communications Officer

New March Releases

Post Published: March 4, 2025

March is here and that means another month of new book 📖 releases!

Find out how a teen discovers that her family is in the mafia, get inside the brains of four senior assassins who solve a murder and learn how the community of Batavia, New York fought corporate greed to save their minor league baseball team.

Composite graphic of 10 book covers.

Good Stab is a Blackfeet vampire seeking revenge for the atrocities committed against his people. "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones layers narratives over a century, combining historical events with chilling horror while examining themes of identity, guilt and survival.

Retired assassins Billie, Helen, Mary Alice and Natalie are once again pulled back into the game. "Kills Well with Others," Deanna Raybourn’s exhilarating and darkly funny sequel to "Killers of a Certain Age," uncovers a revenge plot tied to a decades-old mission stretching back to WWII.

When Major League Baseball eliminated 42 minor league teams in 2020, the community of Batavia, New York didn’t let go of their beloved Muckdogs without a fight. They revived the team as a summer league for college players and in "Homestand," journalist Will Bardenwerper captures the eccentric fans, passionate locals and the bittersweet clash between corporate greed and grassroots love for the game in small town America.

Historian and herbalist Charlotte Taylor Fryar uses the Potomac River as a lens to explore America’s racial and colonial past, highlighting gentrification, environmental degradation and systemic inequality. "Potomac Fever" is both a love letter to the river and a sharp critique of American myth.

Middle-grade readers will be drawn to "Whale Eyes," a memoir by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea. The interactive visuals and imaginative design—with changing fonts and words traveling across the page requiring the book to be physically turned on its side and upside down—portray Robinson’s life with strabismus, a condition that affects eye alignment and perception.

Teen readers will be swept up in the action-packed enemies-to-lovers mafia romance, "In the Company of Killers" by Elora Cook. When Tasha’s father and sister are murdered, she discovers that she’s inherited control of New York’s most powerful mob family, but to find the killer, she must team up with Leo, her former best friend and heir to a rival family.

Place Your Holds Now!

More Book Lists to Explore

Composite of two book covers.
Diane's 2025 Picks
Composite of two book covers.
Recent Irish Fiction

March 4, 2025 by Library Communications Officer

The Friendly Cab Company

Post Published: February 27, 2025

In 1947, Ralph Collins started a cab company to help his neighbors get around under Jim Crow segregation. It was one of the longest-running businesses in Green Valley.

Ralph Collins walking with his wife, Cornelia in the 1940s.

Ralph Collins with his wife Cornelia, ca. 1940s. From WETA’s Boundary Stones.

There were plenty of ways to get around Arlington in the 1940s. By then, streetcars had given way to bus routes and taxi cabs. As automobile ownership increased, so did commuter culture and the rise of numerous highways such as Shirley Highway (I-395 today).

But it was not so easy for Black Arlingtonians to get where they needed to go. Under Jim Crow, they were discriminated against on public transit and barred from using white taxi services. Segregation ruled every aspect of public life, from restaurants to barber shops and recreation centers.

Even access to medical care was separate and unequal. Arlington Hospital (now Virginia Medical Center) had segregated wards, and services to Black patients were limited. The maternity ward would not offer care to Black mothers, who were expected to travel to hospitals in Washington, D.C., or Alexandria to give birth.

For Black Arlingtonians, traveling that far in a medical emergency was difficult, especially since many could not afford cars of their own.

In 1947, Ralph Delaware Collins (1896–1951) of Green Valley founded Friendly Cab Company to help address this urgent need. It began as a shuttle service, transporting neighbors to and from medical appointments. Over time, Friendly Cab expanded into a full-service taxicab company and a cherished community institution.

Friendly Cab driver Granderson O. Bollock.

Friendly Cab driver Granderson O. Bollock. From RG 338: The Personal Papers of Birdie and Mable Alston, 1905-2019.

The company’s first taxis were Chryslers and many of the drivers were off-duty Black firemen. One early driver for Friendly Cab was Granderson O. Bullock (1910-2003). He worked as a milkman before becoming a part-time driver. He also worked for The Peyton Funeral Home and later, the U.S. postal service.

Friendly Cab gained a reputation for going above and beyond in their service to the community. In a Northern Virginia Sun article from 1965, Alice Kennard, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, praised the drivers of Friendly Cab Company for always getting her to her treatments, even if that meant "the driver picked her up and carried her to the cab.”

A newspaper clip from the Northern Virginia Sun about the Friendly Cab Company.

“Life in a Wheelchair Temporary, She Says,” by Virginia Warren. Northern Virginia Sun, vol. 28, no. 207, June 4, 1965.

After Ralph Collins' death in 1951, his brother Doug took over the company. William Collins, Sr. inherited the business and ran it until the mid-1990s, when he passed it along to William Collins, Jr., who managed it with help from Charles Collins and, later, Darryl Collins.

A newspaper clip of Ralph D. Collins' obituary in 1951.

Ralph D. Collins’ obituary, 1951. Source.

In an interview, Darryl remembered the day he decided to take over the family business. At his father’s funeral, longtime community leader Dr. Alfred Taylor stood up to speak on the man’s life and legacy. He then looked directly at Darryl and his siblings and said, “Do not let this business go away.”

Darryl knew then and there that the Friendly Cab Company was too important to let go. He continued to run the business with his sister, Vicky. Over the years, they turned down multiple offers to purchase the company, resolving instead to help Friendly Cab meet the community’s changing needs.

Facing increasing competition from rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, the Friendly Cab Company recently ceased operations. According to the Arlington County Register of Historic Places, it was one of the longest-running businesses in Nauck history.

Sources:

  • A guide to the African American heritage of Arlington County, Virginia
  • Arlington County Register of Historic Places
  • Boundary Stones, “Meeting the Community's Needs: Arlington's Friendly Cab Company”
  • Elizabeth Morton, “Friendly Cab”
  • Find a Grave: Ralph Delaware Collins
  • Funeral Program for Granderson Bullock
  • Green Valley Civic Association, “Friendly Cab Stand”
  • Interview with Darryl Collins, Arlington Public Library Oral History Project, Series 13, No. 4
  • Oral History: Rayfield Barber

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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February 27, 2025 by Christopher George

Director’s Message: Know Your Rights

Post Published: February 17, 2025

Know Your Rights: A guide to resources

Library Director Diane Kresh and Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis greeting a new citizen of the United States of America.
Library Director Diane Kresh and Takis Karantonis welcome a new citizen at the U.S. Naturalization Ceremony at Central Library, Aug. 24, 2023.

While writing this message, I am reminded of children's television icon Fred Rogers famously saying, "Look for the helpers." A comforting thought to offer young people in times of crisis and uncertainty. Mr. Rogers taught us there are always people who step up to help—whether they are first responders, volunteers or everyday people offering kindness and comfort and with that, a hope things will get better.

Libraries have a proud history of providing free resources and education to immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Arlington Public Library is committed to informing the community about individual rights and providing trustworthy and relevant resources when they are needed most.

Individuals standing up with United States of America flags at a 2024 Naturalization Ceremony at Arlington Public Library.
50 people, representing over 30 countries, participated in the U.S. Naturalization Ceremony. 

Immigrants, regardless of their immigration status, have rights as cited in the U.S. Constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has information about one's rights as an immigrant. United We Dream provides information about what to do if one has an encounter with an immigration official.

Resources to learn more about rights, the official path to citizenship and free legal and social services can be found on our website.

In addition, the library has eCollections for immigrants, refugees and new citizens.

Please share these resources within your networks and stay tuned for updates. Arlington Public Library is here to help.

Signatue of Library Director Diane Kresh.

Diane Kresh
Director, Arlington Public Library

February 17, 2025 by Christopher George

Announcing the Wedding Contest Winners

Post Published: February 14, 2025

And the winners are…

Love, libraries, and lifelong commitment—Katie Lettie & Vincent Bauer’s story is one for the books! After more than a decade together (sometimes on opposite coasts, sometimes an ocean apart), these two built a life full of love, literature and culinary adventures! But when it came to choosing a wedding venue, nothing felt quite right… until now.

Arlington is where they finally put down roots together, where they found their community, and now, where they’ll say “I do.” And who better to announce their big news than Bridgerton author and Arlington Reads guest Julia Quinn?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ArlingtonVALib (@arlingtonvalib)

Thank you to all the couples who entered. You made our committee’s job VERY challenging!

Learn more about this year's Arlington Reads theme, "Share the Love," and stay tuned to hear more from Katie & Vincent. Mark your calendar for their big day July 12, 2025.

February 14, 2025 by Christopher George

Know Your Rights: The library is here to help.

Post Published: February 7, 2025

Public libraries are trusted sources for accurate and well-researched information. Libraries have a long history of providing free resources and education to immigrants and refugees. Arlington Public Library is committed to educating the community about individual rights and providing relevant resources when you need them most.

Immigrants have rights. Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has information about your rights as an immigrant, and how to express them. United We Dream provides information about what to do if you have an encounter with an immigration officer.

Arlington County has a commitment to strengthening trust with the immigrant community. Additional resources for immigrants can be found on the County’s website.

There are many resources to learn about your rights, as well as information about the official path to citizenship.

  • Arlington Human Rights Commission and Complaint Forms
  • Immigration Resources for Families (APS)
  • National Immigration Law Center
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  • Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)
  • Family Preparedness Plan
  • United We Dream
  • United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
  • DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

The library has compiled additional free legal and social services resources for immigrants that can be found on the library’s website as well as eCollections for Immigrants, Refugees, and New Citizens.

In addition, Arlington Public Library is committed to protecting the privacy of all information about patron requests for service, materials, loan transactions, online sites and resources accessed.

Confidentiality of customer records is protected under state law: Virginia Code § 2.2-3705.7. The Library will comply with all proper judicial process (government order to produce documents or information) authenticated by the County Attorney, while preserving customer confidentiality to the extent allowed by law. Additional details about the library’s privacy policy are on our website.

The American Library Association details the relationship between libraries and immigration enforcement.

Please stay tuned for updates.

February 7, 2025 by Alprin Tagged With: Alert Major

New February Releases

Post Published: February 5, 2025

Our Hearts ❤️ Are In The Books 📖

This year, we’re sending valentines to our favorite authors and book characters. Whether they make us laugh, cry, think or all of the above, they ensure our hearts will always be between the pages.

Book composite of 8 book covers.

The Ethiopian government banned "Oromay" days after it was released in 1983. Author Baalu Girma disappeared mere months later, widely believed to be murdered by the regime in retaliation for this powerful anti-war novel. Set against the Red Star Campaign against Eritrean insurgents, a journalist grows increasingly disillusioned while navigating propaganda, war and personal turmoil. Translated from Amharic by David Degusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu, it’s now available in English for the first time.

In Molly O’Neill’s "Greenteeth," a lake monster, a witch and a goblin go on a quest to fight a malevolent force threatening their home. Steeped in British folklore and Arthurian legend, this rich fantasy mixes eerie magic, adventure and found family. Perfect for fans of mythic quests.

In "You Didn’t Hear This From Me," Kelsey McKinney, the host of the Normal Gossip podcast examines the role gossip plays in human connection. Using personal stories, research and pop culture from Gilgamesh to The Real Housewives, she explores the good and bad sides of talking about others behind their back.

"Waste Wars" is a hard-hitting exposé of the global waste trade and uncovers how the affluent nations of the Global North offload their trash onto poorer countries under the guise of recycling. From toxic shipbreaking in Turkey to hazardous e-waste processing in Ghana, Alexander Clapp looks at the dark underbelly of consumerism and its devastating consequences.

The middle grade graphic novel "Crumble" follows Emily, who can bake her emotions into desserts. Her family of bakers have one cardinal rule–never bake a bad feeling. But after the devastating loss of her aunt, Emily bakes her grief with widespread unintended consequences. Written by Meredith McClaren and illustrated by Andrea Ball, this is a poignant look at grief, magic and healing.

Teen readers will want to check out the swashbuckling fantasy "Capitana" by Cassandra James. When the Queen is kidnapped by pirates, Cadet Ximena sees her chance to prove her loyalty and become a Cazadoro, a pirate hunter. But her journey, complete with rivalries, high-stakes action and a slow-burning romance with her competitor challenges everything she thought she knew.

Place Your Holds Now!

More Book Lists to Explore

Book composite of two books.
Best recent Black Fiction
Book composite of two books.
Best recent romance

February 5, 2025 by Library Communications Officer

Sharing the Love: Elizabeth and Edmund Campbell

Post Published: January 30, 2025

This year’s theme for Arlington Reads is love – sharing it, celebrating it, and reading about it. We thought it was a good opportunity to highlight some of our favorite Arlington power couples who worked together to ‘spread the love’ in their communities. This is part one of an ongoing series of blog posts, each featuring a different couple.

Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell.

Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell. Photos from RG 19: Personal Papers of Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, 1942-1991.

During their 60 years of marriage, Elizabeth and Edmund Campbell dedicated themselves to improving Arlington’s public school system. Leveraging their respective skills in education and law, they motivated one another to support their community through political engagement, volunteering and activism.

Edmund Campbell (1899–1995) met Elizabeth Pfohl (1902–2004) in 1936 while Elizabeth was serving as dean of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. After they married, Elizabeth moved to Cherrydale, where Edmund lived while practicing law in Washington. She adopted Edmund’s two children from a previous marriage and in 1941 they had twins of their own.

At that time, Arlington’s population was booming, in part because of the influx of wartime government workers. Between 1870 (when the first public school was established in Arlington) and 1950, the school-age population had nearly quadrupled. The school system was unequipped to teach so many children. Resources were spread thin and teachers were overwhelmed by large class sizes and long hours.

a license plate that reads, better schools make better communities.

License plate with the phrase, "Better Schools Make Better Communities" From RG 19.

The Campbells, wanting a better education for their children, decided to step up and demand a change. They became charter members of the Citizen Committee for School Improvement ("CCSI").

In 1947, they helped introduce legislation that gave Arlington the right to elect its own School Board, which they hoped would better serve the community. Until then, the School Board had been appointed by a School Trustee Electoral Board which in turn was appointed by the circuit court of Arlington County.

a newsletter from Citizen Committee for School Improvement (CCSI).

CCSI Newsletter, n.d. From RG 19.

Following this victory, CCSI focused on gathering nominees for the elected School Board. Despite her professional background in education and involvement in the Arlington PTA, Elizabeth Campbell declined to run—until her husband encouraged her to do so.

https://library.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Campbell_Elizabeth_clipped.wav

EDMUND: How did you get involved formally in the Better Schools Movement?

ELIZABETH: Well, I was asked to be a candidate to run for the elected school board, and I think I was asked after the two of us had received a group of Arlington citizens who said, "Which one of you will be a candidate for the School Board?" And you said, "I will not, but Elizabeth, I think you should because you have been active in school affairs."

EDMUND: And I had just finished my term on the County Board.

ELIZABETH: So, then you were asked to be the Chairman of the School Board Nominating Convention. The Convention was held on a hot August night, and I...

EDMUND: Where was it held?

ELIZABETH: It was held in the Ashton Heights Club House south of Pershing Drive on Fillmore Street. I remember that we got ready to go over there. We got in the car, and as we drove, you said, "Now, Elizabeth, you have worked very hard to get an elected School Board. There's no reason why with all of these good people as candidates you shouldn't get yourself nominated.” And I said, "No, I'm not going to."

But I got over there in that crowded room, and I was asked to make my little one-minute or two-minute talk. I looked around at all of the people who had worked so hard to pass this legislation to give us the right to have an elected School Board. I was thrilled with a patriotic fervor that I had never felt before or since. I don't know what I said, but the result of what I said was that I was the one woman nominated to serve with four men as candidates for the Arlington Elected School Board.

A notecard with a guide on school board candidates to vote for in 1947 election.

Notecard with a guide on which school board candidates to vote for in the 1947 election. From RG 19.

After a grueling campaign, they succeeded in getting all five nominees elected. Elizabeth served on the School Board from 1948 through 1955, and again from 1960 to 1963. They often held meetings in the Campbells’ home, where Edmund continued to support Elizabeth and the work they were doing to raise funds for school improvements.

A pamphlet urging Arlington residents to vote yes for a bond in the 1950s.

Pamphlet urging Arlington Residents to vote "Yes" to a bond issue of $4,750,000 to build more schools for Arlington's increased population and school enrollment. From RG 19.

The Campbells also helped desegregate Arlington’s schools, vehemently opposing 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, the couple fought to ensure that Arlington's public schools stay open by organizing the Save Our Schools Committee in defiance of Senator Harry F. Byrd and his allies.

a flyer from the save our schools committee for voting against the constitutional convention.

Flyer from the Save Our Schools Committee arguing for a vote against the constitutional convention. From RG 18: Personal Papers of Barbara Marx.

In 1955, Edmund 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.

Through civic engagement, community organizing and simple kindness, the Campbells worked together to make Arlington a better place for the rest of their lives.

Sources:

  • Edmund Campbell: Speaking Out.
  • Interview with Elizabeth Campbell, Arlington Public Library Oral History Project.
  • March of Time: Fight for Better Schools, 1949.
  • Power in the Public: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Campbell exhibition at Shirlington Library.
  • RG 18: Personal Papers of Barbara Marx, 1950-1965.
  • RG 19: Personal Papers of Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, 1942-1991.

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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January 30, 2025 by Christopher George

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We champion the power of stories, information and ideas.

We create space for culture and connection.

We embrace inclusion and diverse points of view.
























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