Arlington Reads: Rachel Louise Snyder in conversation with Library Director Diane Kresh, Director of Arlington County Human Services Anita Friedman, and Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol.
Domestic violence crosses all boundaries — class, race and age — and the only community response that can effectively end its deadly cycle is one that crosses boundaries, too. This conversation is for every Arlingtonian who cares about a peaceful, violence-free community.
Recorded August 2020.
Many Arlington students are now returning to school, albeit in a very different manner than back-to-schools in the past. In this oral history interview, Delores Downing describes attending Hoffman-Boston in the 1940s.
Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.
Downing attended Hoffman-Boston from the beginning of her schooling at age five to her graduation at 16, when she was the youngest of a four-person graduating class. In the interview, Downing talks about her time in school, businesses in her neighborhood, the construction of the Pentagon, and what it was like growing up in Arlington.
Downing’s parents also attended Hoffman-Boston, the first junior, and later senior high school, for African-American students in Arlington. Built in 1915, Hoffman-Boston replaced the Jefferson School, Arlington’s first school for African-American children, which opened in 1870.
Hoffman-Boston was named after Edward C. Hoffman, former principal of the Jefferson, and Ella M. Boston, former principal of Kemper, another school for African-American children in Arlington. Hoffman-Boston remained open until its final graduating class in 1964 when Arlington desegregated its school system.
Hoffman-Boston High School, circa 1950s. Part of the George Melvin Richardson Collection.
Narrator: Delores C. Downing
Interviewer 1: Sara Collins
Interviewer 2: Joan White
Date: May 28, 2003
Note: There may be some discrepancies between the audio and written transcripts due to edits and additional details provided by the narrator after recording.
Science demonstration involving a fan at Hoffman-Boston, circa 1950s. Part of the George Melvin Richardson Collection.
Sara Collins: Tell us about the school. What did it look like when you entered the front door?
Delores C. Downing: Open lobby, always clean. To the left and right were the classrooms. If you walked straight ahead there was the auditorium (which is more or less in the same area in the present time). The elementary area was downstairs, junior/senior high upstairs if I remember correctly. Very small school, but a very good school. I do have a picture, maybe I’ll send a copy to you one day.
Children from Green Valley (Nauck) and Halls Hill (High View) area were bussed to HB, due to segregation. We worked from used books passed down from the white schools, but our teachers being who they were worked extremely hard and made good use of books and all supplies and equipment that we did (did not) receive to the best of their knowledge to give us the best education we had. We have P.E. in the back of the auditorium (there was no gym). But so much togetherness in whatever we had to do. During my school years, there were three graduations; from 6th grade to 7th, 9th to 10th, and finally completion of the 12th grade.
SC: I think that would be very helpful.
Joan White: Since you spent all of your school days at Hoffman-Boston, can you tell me during your time there, did the school configuration change? When you were in the first grade, was it like two rooms, and as time progressed did it become larger, or did they have to make it change because of the number of students attending?
DD: When I attended you had specific rooms for each grade.
Group of Hoffman-Boston students stand talking. Student with his back to the camera wears a Hoffman-Boston letterman sweater. Circa 1950s. Part of the George Melvin Richardson Collection.
JW: So there were a number of rooms on the first floor to accommodate all of the elementary grades. Were those large rooms?
DD: They weren’t huge but they were comfortable rooms.
JW: Approximately how many students were in each room? I’m just curious as to how you all were in there.
DD: I don’t know but we were quite comfortable. We weren’t overcrowded. But I can’t give you dimensions on the size of the room. But then we used to have cloakrooms to hang our coats in. I’ll never forget, we had to memorize “The Night Before Christmas,” I think it was Ms. Burke’s class. On the cloakroom door, she pasted all the pages and from time-to-time, you would not stand in the same place, you would have to memorize that page. So even now I still know “The Night Before Christmas,” basically.
Hoffman-Boston Elementary School today. HB reopened an elementary school in 2000 in the Oakridge neighborhood of Arlington. Image courtesy of Arlington Public Schools.
This interview is part of the Center for Local History’s oral history collection, VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.3 no. 183. Watch "Memories of Hoffman-Boston" to learn more about the Hoffman-Boston School.
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. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.
To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with stories about the people and events that led to the passage of women’s suffrage in the United States.
The 19th Amendment was officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920, marking another significant date on the journey to achieve universal suffrage.
“Unknown Photographer, ‘Women voting,’ circa 1925.” Image courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
Consisting of two sections, the Amendment reads: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex” and “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
The journey of the 19th Amendment was decades in the making, the culmination of generations of activists and groups advocating for women’s right to vote. Its legislative journey was also long in the making: after repeated attempts to pass the amendment, starting as early as 1878, it finally passed the House of Representatives with a two-thirds majority vote in January of 1918.
In June 1919, it was approved by the Senate and sent to the states for ratification. Tennessee sealed the amendment’s success when on August 18, 1920, it became the 36th state to sign on, making ratification official and making women’s suffrage law.
But the journey didn’t end with Tennessee’s dramatic clinching vote. The certified record of action of the state’s legislature was sent via train to Washington, D.C., and arrived just over a week later on August 26. (Virginia notably rejected the 19th Amendment in February of 1920 and didn’t formally ratify the it until February 21, 1952.)
Cover of The Suffragist, the National Woman’s Party’s weekly newsletter, celebrating the passage of the 19th Amendment in the Senate, June 21, 1919. Image courtesy of the Bryn Mawr College Library.
Early the morning of August 26, U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the Amendment without ceremony at his home. In contrast to the formalities and ceremony of other pieces of legislation, no leaders of the suffrage movement were present at the signing, nor were any members of the press, or any recording devices.
This lack of ceremony upset some suffragists, such as Abby Scott Baker of the National Woman’s Party, who declared,
“It was quite tragic. This was the final culmination of the women’s fight, and, women, irrespective of factions, should have been allowed to be present when the proclamation was signed. However, the women of America have fought a big fight and nothing can take from them their triumph.” (From the New York Times, August 27, 1920.)
Headline from the New York Times the day after the 19th Amendment was adopted, August 27, 1920. Image courtesy of the New York Times.
Later that day, suffragist and head of the conservative National American Suffrage Associate Carrie Chapman Catt, along with fellow organization member Helen H. Gardiner, were received at the White House by then-president Woodrow Wilson and First Lady Edith Wilson, marking the only governmental celebration of the signing day.
Numerous groups were excluded from the rights extended by the 19th amendment, including Native Americans, women in some U.S. territories, women of Asian descent, and others excluded from obtaining citizenship. African Americans were also systemically prevented from voting through Jim Crow laws and voter suppression, and African American woman activists such as Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash helped to eventually secure the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – another national milestone in the fight to truly secure universal suffrage for all.
In 1973, as the Equal Rights Amendment was going under review in Congress, President Nixon signed Proclamation 4236 declaring August 26 Women’s Equality Day.
This was a symbolic end to the decades-long struggle for women’s suffrage, and due recognition of the scores of activists and groups who had toiled to achieve to right to vote, but the journey toward universal suffrage didn’t stop with the 19th amendment
Countless people are still fighting for their right to vote today, and the milestone of the 19th Amendment is a reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go in pursuit of fully equal voting rights.
Read stories about the people and events that led to the passage of women’s suffrage in the United States.
“Women out in force, Men and women at the voting poll, Oliver and Henry Streets, New York City,” circa 1922. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
“Twelve Reasons Why Women Should Vote.” Image courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York.
2020 marked the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment.
By reading regularly with your child, you give them the biggest boost toward a successful education.
MyBook provides every child who qualifies, in kindergarten through 2nd grade, with five free, carefully selected books to keep. Each month, from September through December, a new, book will be available for pick up. All you have to do is sign up, pick up a new book each month, and read with your child!
Children who meet all three requirements:
Parent/Guardian’s responsibility:
Register and learn more on the Library website.
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with stories about the people and events that led to the passage of women’s suffrage in the United States.
This week, we celebrate the 100 anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification. On August 18, 1920, a day nearly a century in the making, Tennessee became the last of the needed 36 states (or, ¾ of the United States) to secure adoption of the Amendment.
House Joint Resolution I proposing the 19th Amendment to the States. Image courtesy of the National Archives.
The amendment had initially been introduced to Congress in 1878, but attempts to pass through the House had repeatedly failed. In the following years, countless individuals and activist groups fought toward the goal of granting women their full democratic voting rights.
The 19th Amendment finally passed through the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919, followed by the Senate on June 4, 1919. From there, it was sent to the states for ratification, which took over a year.
Tennessee’s position as the final ratifying state has become something of a legend, coming down to the decision of a 24-year-old state representative named Harry T. Burn. After easily passing the amendment in the Tennessee House, its Senate took longer to come to a decision. Intense lobbying led to what was described as a “War of the Roses” – where supporters of suffrage donned yellow roses to symbolize their loyalty during the legislative proceedings, while anti-suffragists wore red.
After two tied votes, it came down to young Burn, who – after receiving an encouraging letter from his aging mother – broke the tie with an “Aye,” thus putting an end to the back-and-forth, and cementing Tennessee’s role in the history of women’s suffrage.
Tennessee’s position as the final ratifying state has become something of a legend, coming down to the decision of a 24-year-old state representative named Harry T. Burn. After easily passing the amendment in the Tennessee House, its Senate took longer to come to a decision. Intense lobbying led to what was described as a “War of the Roses” – where supporters of suffrage donned yellow roses to symbolize their loyalty during the legislative proceedings, while anti-suffragists wore red.
After two tied votes, it came down to young Burn, who – after receiving an encouraging letter from his aging mother – broke the tie with an “Aye,” thus putting an end to the back-and-forth, and cementing Tennessee’s role in the history of women’s suffrage.
“When Tennessee the 36th State Ratified, Aug 18, 1920, Alice Paul, National Chairman of the Woman’s Party, Unfurled the Ratification Banner from Suffrage Headquarters."
This photo captures suffragist Alice Paul unfurling a completed “ratification flag” with 36 stars. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
But the drama of this down-to-the-wire story, in which a young man appears to play the starring role, should not overshadow the decades of labor and work done by the actual activists behind the cause. Suffragists were tireless, sophisticated, and revolutionary in their means and methods. They used grassroots organizing, and initiated legal challenges. And when 12 women walked from their Lafayette Square headquarters to picket outside of the White House’s North Gate, hoping to gain the attention of then-president Woodrow Wilson, these suffragists were among the first groups to demonstrate outside of the White House.
The celebration of successful suffrage would also be incomplete without recognition of the African American women and other POC activists whose efforts have largely gone unsung in the retrospective view of the fight for suffrage. These individuals and groups worked tirelessly for the cause, even amidst rampant racism within and without the suffrage movement.
Read stories about the people and events that led to the passage of women’s suffrage in the United States.
“The First Picket Line-College Day in the picket line,” February 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The “Honor Roll” in The Suffragist, a weekly newspaper published by the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage, listing the 36 states in the order they ratified the 19th amendment. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
A banner from the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs with its motto, “Lifting as we climb,” circa 1924. The organization was founded by prominent suffragist Mary Church Terrell in 1896 as the National Association of Colored Women. Terrell also served as its first president. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History & Culture.
An excerpt from local coverage of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in the Alexandria Gazette, from August 19, 1920. Image courtesy of the Virginia Chronicle.
Unfortunately, although the 19th Amendment was ratified on this historic date, millions were still not able to vote equally in practice. The Amendment did not include voting rights for Native Americans, women in some U.S. territories, women of Asian descent, and others excluded from obtaining citizenship. African American women and men also faced rampant voter suppression, Jim Crow laws, and many other systemically imposed barriers to the ballot box.
Countless are still fighting for their right to vote today, and the milestone of the 19th Amendment is a reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go in pursuit of fully equal voting rights.
2020 marks the centennial of the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with stories about the people and events that led to the passage of women’s suffrage in the United States.
The executive committee of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. Image courtesy of Spartacus Education via Your Voice Your Vote.
Over the course of the last year, the Center for Local History has collected the stories of the individuals and groups that helped lay the foundation for women’s suffrage in the United States.
As the Library commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, a major milestone in enacting the democratic principles of our nation, read the stories detailing the people and events that led up to this historic moment.
Suffragist Margaret Foley distributing the Woman’s Journal and Suffrage News, 1913. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
The Woman’s Journal was a women’s rights publication that produced its first issue on January 8, 1870. One of the most significant and popular publications of the women’s suffrage movement, it ran in various forms from 1870 to 1931. Founded by suffragist Lucy Stone and her husband Henry Browne Blackwell in Boston, Massachusetts, the Woman's Journal aimed to provide a broad segment of women with information on the women’s rights movement and the suffrage cause.
Image of Zitkála-Šá ca. 1921, courtesy of the Library of Congress
Nationally recognized as an author and activist, Zitkála-Šá was a vocal proponent for citizenship and voting rights for Native Americans. A Lyon Park resident later in life, she passed away on this date in 1938 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Hallie Quinn Brown. Image courtesy of Wilberforce-Payne Unified Library.
Born on March 10, 1865, Hallie Quinn Brown was a preeminent educator, writer, public speaker, and activist in the causes of civil rights and suffrage throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. She was a president of the National Council of Colored Women and worked on political campaigns throughout her life.
Dr. Mabel Lee, date unknown. Photo from the George Grantham Bain Collection, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
On May 4, 1912, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee made history when she led one of New York City’s major suffrage parades on horseback. Lee was an active suffragist and activist throughout her life despite the barriers around her – for example, Chinese women such as Lee herself would not be able to vote until the Chinese Exclusion Act was removed in 1943 and they could become citizens.
“Horse-drawn float declares National American Woman Suffrage Association’s support for Bristow-Mondell amendment.” Circa 1914. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
In 1866, the women’s suffrage movement experienced a significant change in its organization as the various groups leading the struggle toward women’s suffrage split over certain issues. Key among them was support for the 15th Amendment, (passed in 1869), which states that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Nannie Helen Burroughs photographed between 1900 and 1920. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Nannie Helen Burroughs, who was a leading educator, feminist and suffragist in the Washington, D.C., area throughout the early 20th century, founded a school for girls and women and was an active member in her community.
Portrait of Ida B. Wells, circa 1893. Image courtesy of the National Park Service.
Ida B. Wells was an investigative journalist, activist, and suffragist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s. She was also one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Mary Church Terrell, photo taken between 1880 and 1900, printed later. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Born on September 23, 1863, Mary Church Terrell was a D.C. suffragist who was a tireless champion of women’s rights and racial justice. She was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women, an active member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was engaged in lawsuits related to civil rights well into her eighties.
Video of Agatha Tiegel Hanson, reminiscing [about her college experiences] with unnamed younger people. From the Gallaudet Archives. No transcript, undated.
Agatha Tiegel Hanson was the first female graduate (and valedictorian) of Gallaudet University and an early champion of both deaf and women’s rights. Hanson, who passed away on October 17, 1959, was instrumental in organizing women’s groups on Gallaudet’s campus and continued to advocate for equality throughout her life.
Lucy Stone, one of the Convention’s lead organizers and a speaker at the event.
On October 23, 1850, the first National Woman’s Rights Convention began in Worcester, Massachusetts. Amidst the ringing fervor of the mid-19th-century clarion call for expanding women’s rights – with the right to vote as its central tenet – this day would emerge as a significant step in solidifying the goals and action plan of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States.
Policewoman arrests Florence Youmans of Minnesota and Annie Arniel (center) of Delaware for refusing to give up their banners. June 1917. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
On November 14, 1917, a group of suffragists underwent a horrifying night of torture and abuse that would come to be known as the “Night of Terror.” On this day in history, 33 women protesters were taken to the Occoquan Workhouse in Fairfax County and subjected to brutal treatment by the prison’s guards in retaliation for the women’s ongoing peaceful protest for the right to vote.
Portrait of Sojourner Truth. Caption on portrait reads: "I sell the shadow to support the substance." Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
November 26 marks the anniversary of the death of legendary suffragist and abolitionist Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery as Isabella Baumfree (sometimes written as Bomfree) in 1797, Truth was enslaved in Dutch-speaking Ulster County, New York, where she was bought and sold four times throughout her life.
“Scene at the Polls in Cheyenne,” 1888.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
On December 10, 1869, the frontier territory became the first to explicitly grant women the right to vote when Governor John Campbell approved “An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage and to Hold Office.”
To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the 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’s Libraries have been a mainstay of the county landscape for generations – but how did the library system as we know it come to be?
Construction signage for Arlington’s Central Library, February 1960.
Before the year 1936, Arlington County had been served by five independent libraries: Glencarlyn, Cherrydale, Clarendon, Aurora Hills, and Arlington/Columbia Pike. These were volunteer-led efforts run independently rather than as a unilateral system, and that individually received limited financial support from the County. These locations were largely established and managed by women members of the Arlington community.
In 1936 however, the Public Library system changed forever. A group of citizens and representatives from those five libraries joined together to form a collective Countywide system and to appeal for increased County financial support. Four delegates from each branch as well as four delegates at large met to discuss the possibility of a cohesive, singular library system and what that would entail.
Articles from the Northern Virginia Sun describing the early efforts of Eleanor Leonard and the Arlington County Library Association. From September 17, 1937 (L), and November 11, 1937 (R).
A year later, in 1937, the newly formed Arlington County Library Association began work to establish Arlington’s first library system. In its early days, the Association completed a survey of the County’s libraries, population and resources to help guide their planning process. The group also conducted an “educate-your-county-officials” campaign, and eventually won their support. The County Manager at the time, Frank Hanrahan, agreed to their proposal under the condition that the proposed branches would need to meet ALA standards.
The group also voted unanimously to hire a professional librarian to oversee the formation of the library system. The County government later designated $3,500 to the libraries', $3,000 of which was for operational costs and $500 to pay the salary of the hired librarian.
The Aurora Hills branch of the Arlington Public Library, July 1969.
In July of 1937, Eleanor Leonard was hired for the librarian position. Among her efforts to standardize and streamline the library system, she discarded damaged material, cataloged the library’s holdings, and trained volunteers in all aspects of library work. By the fall of 1939, the five libraries had been standardized, while the daily work of running the libraries continued to be done by volunteers. By July 1938, 11,328 books had been reclassified and cataloged according to American Library Association standards.
Architectural plans for the Columbia Pike Library, date unknown.
About a decade later, in 1949, eight branches were in operation, among them: Aurora Hills, Cherrydale, Clarendon, Columbia Pike, Glen Carlyn, Holmes, Shirlington (formerly Fairlington), and Westover branches.
The Holmes branch closed in 1949, and the Clarendon location became the Central Library, while the rest of the branches continue to stand where they are today, ready to serve their respective local communities again once the pandemic is over.
Cherrydale Library opening celebration, 1961.
Front side of the Cherrydale Library at 4006 Lee Highway, where it operated from 1946-1961.
This post is a condensed version of the “Libraries” section of the Library’s Women’s Work project, featuring materials from RG 29: Arlington County Public Library Department Records.
To learn more about Arlington's history, visit the Center for Local History on the first floor of the 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.
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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When you love a book, you might dress like your favorite characters, suggest it to your friends (furry, robot and otherwise...) and even cook it for dinner!
These photos were submitted by Arlington readers in response to this year's Summer Reading Bonus Challenge, to celebrate the fun of reading!
Each Bonus Challenge submission earns you a raffle ticket in Summer Reading! Monday, August 3 is the last day to begin reading to complete the main Summer Reading Challenge, but you can still participate in Summer Reading up until September 1.
Get inspired by these photos of Arlington community and Library staff Bonus Challenge submissions!
![[11:59 AM] Megan Wianecki William reads his new favorite book, "This Is a Dog" by Ross Collins. Nissa is not impressed.](https://library.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Screen-Shot-2020-08-03-at-11.54.20-AM-1024x765.png)
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In each episode, Diane speaks with local Arlingtonians who have made a difference in our community.