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Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/16/2019
6:30 pm

Location
Washington Golf and Country Club

Categories


Plan to attend the upcoming AHS Banquet on Thursday, May 16 starting at 6:30 pm at the Washington Golf and County Club.

James McGrath Morris Keynote Speaker

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)

AHS is excited to welcome former Arlington resident and author James McGrath Morris as our keynote speaker at this year’s Annual AHS Banquet. As we continue to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the desegregation of Arlington public schools, Mr. Morris will share his abiding interest in civil rights history. His landmark article A Chink in the Armor: The Black-Led Struggle for School Desegregation in Arlington, Virginia, and the End of Massive Resistance told the full story of what Arlington’s African-American community went through to desegregate Arlington public schools after the 1954 Supreme Court mandated nationwide desegregation. He worked closely with key activists including Dorothy Hamm and his detailed account of the effort to desegregate schools in Arlington has been widely cited among scholarly works.

In addition, his bestselling Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press was awarded the Benjamin Hooks National Book Prize for the best work in civil rights history. A previous biography, Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power was selected by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five best books on American moguls and American Library Association’s Booklist placed it on its list of the ten best biographies of the year. His most recent book is The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War.  He is currently working on a biography of Tony Hillerman, the author of a ground-breaking series of Navajo detective novels.

Cornelia B. Rose, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award

AHS will present its Cornelia B. Rose, Jr. Award to Edward, Bernard, and Carmela Hamm, the family of Dorothy and E. Leslie Hamm. The Cornelia B. Rose, Jr. Award honors a member or members of the community who have partnered with AHS to share Arlington’s history. The Hamm family has loaned the papers of Arlington civil rights activist Dorothy Hamm to the museum for an exhibit on school desegregation. The Hamm family has also worked with AHS to provide several programs focused on school desegregation.

You Are Invited!
AHS Banquet Invite

Tickets for AHS members are $65. Tickets for non AHS members are $75. To purchase tickets, please print the AHS Reply Card and mail it with your payment to:

Arlington Historical Society

P.O. Box 100402

Arlington, Virginia 22210

Tickets ordered will be at the reception table the night of  the banquet.  The event will be held at the historic Washington Golf and Country Club at 3017 N Glebe Road in Arlington. We look forward to seeing you at this exciting evening.