"Alexandria's Library Sit-in" {Augusta 21,1939}

The Alexandria Library sit-in took place in Northern Virginia just outside
of Washington,D.C.it is considered the earliest library sit-in and also one of the earliest recorded protests of its kind.
On August 21,1939,the sit-in's organizer local attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker,had five African-American men attempt to obtain cards from the Kate Waller Barrett Library.As a public space,Virginia's "racial intrgrity" laws didn't legally bar African-American borrowing books
from the the space they were denied anyway.
The five men William "Buddy"Evans Otto L.Tucker,Edward Gaddis,Morris Murray,& Clarence Strange individually entered
the Barrett Library in an attempt to get cards for book loans.
Each man was denied a card,so they took a book of the shelf and began to read.Police were called in after of hours and they were arrested for discorderly conduct.The court delayed their trial and they were never convicted.
The racism and discrimination the men face.Inspired Samuel to continue rallying for equal rights,and an African-American-only library was opened the following year.As expected,this new facility did not compare to the Barrett Library.The former African-American only library is now the Alexandria Black History Museum.