African-American Civil Rights
The Civil Rights Tour is a group of historical sites in Arlington that exhibit the struggles and victories of individuals, groups, and institutions related to the African-American Civil Rights movement. As a suburb of the US capital, Arlington witnessed significant civil rights events and was home to people who played key roles in both national civil rights campaigns and local efforts for racial equality.
Charles Drew House
Dr. Charles Drew pioneered blood banking from the 1920s to 1940s and lived in a modest two-story frame house in North Arlington. He was also the first African American to receive a Doctorate of Science in Medicine. As Chief of Surgery at Freedmen's Hospital (now Howard University Hospital),…
View Story Show on Map
Stratford Junior High School and Desegregation
Stratford Junior High School was built in 1950 during one of Arlington's most active periods of school construction following World War II. It was the first of four new junior high schools built to accommodate the rapid increase in student population. In the 1950's it also was at the…
View Story Show on Map
Lunch Counter Sit-ins
A drugstore in Cherrydale, north Arlington, was the site of the first peaceful demonstration for the right of African-Americans to be served at the white-only lunch counters
View Story Show on Map
Hall's Hill Segregation Wall
Along the rear property line of the white homes which bordered Hall's Hill, including the neighborhoods of Fostoria and Waycroft, residents constructed a seven foot tall cinderblock wall.
View Story Show on Map