Desegregation in Northern Virginia Libraries
by Chris Barbuschak and Suzanne S. LaPierre
History Press, 2023. 206 pages.
Review written April 30, 2025, from my own copy, signed by the authors.
Starred Review
First, I owe my friends, authors Chris and Suzanne, a big apology. I attended their book launch in 2023 and got a signed copy – but I didn’t get it read until 2025. My excuse was that I was on the Morris Award committee in 2023, reading only debut young adult books – but that’s not a very good excuse in 2025! On top of that, Suzanne is the very most faithful advocate for my reviews, always liking my review posts on Facebook. So anyway, let me tell you about their wonderful book!
Yes, of course I’m biased. Chris and Suzanne both work in the Virginia Room at the City of Fairfax Regional Library branch of Fairfax County Public Library, where I worked as Youth Services Manager before I got my current position as Youth Materials Selector. I often got to spend an hour or two at the Virginia Room desk as needed – and came to appreciate their expertise and skills as researchers.
This book shows meticulous research, uncovering the history of segregation in Northern Virginia libraries, both explicit and implicit, and the brave Black activists who made desegregation happen even when a Supreme Court ruling wasn’t enough.
The book happened because one of the Fairfax County Library Board trustees, Dr. Sujatha Hamptom, challenged the established answer that FCPL had been open to everyone since its founding in 1939. Chris and Suzanne were asked to dig deeper and did the deep research in local archives that led to this book. I loved the way in their book launch they told stories of the individuals who stood up for everyone’s right to read – with legal challenges, sit-ins, and the like.
The book looks at six different Northern Virginia library systems, at notable cases elsewhere in Virginia, and at service in Washington, D. C. Even though Virginia passed a law in 1946 that libraries had to provide service to all residents – most jurisdictions still tried to meet that with separate services. And each jurisdiction had to fight for their rights in their own neighborhoods. And even when libraries were officially desegregated, there was still some time before Black people felt welcome enough to visit formerly white-only facilities.
The beautiful part of this book is how many different individuals took steps to make a difference in their own communities – and how in the long run, they succeeded, despite some individual setbacks. That’s a heartening message to read about today, when the idea that folks should be free to read what they want is being newly threatened. It’s good to read about the ordinary people who were heroes in the past by standing up for their own rights to library access.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/desegregation_in_northern_virginia_libraries.html
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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.
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