Book: Desegregation in Northern Virginia Libraries

Description

During the Jim Crow era, many public libraries were segregated. Public libraries play a fundamental community role by providing free educational resources, boosting literacy and knowledge, and even serving as a place of refuge. Despite this, most libraries were inaccessible to African-American residents and many areas continued to resist integration even after the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Authors, Chris Babuschak and Suzanne Lapierre, both librarians in Fairfax County discuss the truth about the barriers imposed on the Black community. The book also show how citizens became activists using protests and lawsuits to achieve more equitable library services. Their legacy resonates today as libraries continue to evolve and embrace more inclusive practices.

Chris Barbuschak is the manager of Fairfax County Public Library’s Virginia Room. He gets paid to do what he loves: making Northern Virginia historical records and photographs publicly accessible and assisting researchers with their historical and genealogical quests. A graduate in history from Loyola University Chicago, he earned a Masters in Liibrary science Dominican University in Illinois. Chris, a native Northern Virginian, also recently co-authored another book  “Images of America: Burke”.

Suzanne S. LaPierre is a Virginiana Specialist Librarian and works with Chris is the Fairfax County Virginia Room. She writes a column called the Wired Library for Public Libraries Magazine, is a contributing writer for recent editions of The Library and Book Trade Almanac, and is a frequent contributor to Computers in Libraries magazine. Her academic research is published in journals such as Public Library Quarterly. She earned her Masters in Library Science from the University of South Carolina and has a Masters George Washington University. Suzanne was born in DC, grew up in Maryland, and has lived in Fairfax County for the last 30 years.

• Paperback: 208 pages with over 100 photos never published before.
• Publisher: The History Press, 2023

Every book you buy here on the AHS website helps support our mission to strengthen our community by improving the understanding of local history. The authors are donating all their proceeds to the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which was key to desegregating Virginia.