WILMA JONES Copyright © 2018 by Wilma Jones

Home , Red Summer

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-1-7328302-0-2 Dedicated to all the people who grew up on Halls Hill. Much love.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...... vii Chapter 1 A Little Background on Halls Hill...... 1 Chapter 2 Dad’s Family...... 5 Chapter 3 Mom’s Family...... 11 Chapter 4 School and Community...... 15 Chapter 5 Home and Work Life...... 19 Chapter 6 Worship and Celebrations...... 27 Chapter 7 Mom and Dad...... 33 Chapter 8 Jim Crow and Entrepreneurship...... 37 Chapter 9 The Early Years and the War...... 41 Chapter 10 Discrimination, Our Growing Family, and Church Life...... 51 Chapter 11 The Fight for School Equality Begins...... 63 Chapter 12 Exciting but Anxious Times...... 67 Chapter 13 Advancements in the Jones Family and the Community...... 75 Chapter 14 The Fight for School Integration Continues...... 79 vi MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Chapter 15 Developments in the Community and the Jones Family ...... 83 Chapter 16 The Pupil Placement Board...... 93 Chapter 17 Summer on Halls Hill...... 99 Chapter 18 The Stratford Four...... 105 Chapter 19 At Home and in the Community...... 115 Chapter 20 Movies, Protests, and Parties...... 125 Chapter 21 Growing Up and Taking Action...... 131 Chapter 22 Progress...... 137 Chapter 23 Changes and Church Friends...... 141 Chapter 24 A New Path...... 151 Chapter 25 New Voices in the Movement...... 161 Chapter 26 Back at Home ...... 165 Chapter 27 The Changing Landscape...... 169 Chapter 28 Family and Neighborhood Evolution...... 173 INDEX...... 185 INTRODUCTION

“Everything must change. Nothing stays the same.” —Benard Ighner

alls Hill was a unique place to grow up. For almost a century, from the post–Civil War era to the 1960s, the neighborhood Hsustained a united focus. There was a solid foundation of families and organizations. Institutions such as Langston Elemen- tary School, John M. Langston Citizens Association, Fire Station 8, and Calloway and Mount Salvation churches helped knit the community together to endure, even thrive, despite unfair economic circumstances, segregation, and Jim Crow racism. The families’ work ethic and mind-set were consistent and shared by nearly an entire community of people. Gratitude, hard work, and faith were the tenets of our community. I’ve written this book to share some of the stories I have heard about Halls Hill from my family and the townspeople over the years. I’ve included viii MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

important things happening in the world, the country, the state, and the greater Arlington, Virginia, community. I hope this information provides some perspective on what the community had to deal with as they raised their families and pursued a better way of life. My research included information from interview projects with Halls Hill elders. These were published by Arlington County government and Marymount University. I also used research tools at the Center for Local History at Arlington Public Library and The Washington Post archives. The Library of Virginia provided a treasure trove of data regarding the fight for school integration. My parents provided the bulk of information that helped form the structure of this project. In summer 2011, when I moved back to Halls Hill with my sons, I began to prepare Sunday dinner for my mom and dad. I would hang around for a while to talk while they ate their meals. Often during the conversation, we would tell stories of when the seven of us kids were growing up and significant moments in neighborhood history. After a discussion with my sons about one of the stories, I decided I wanted to record this information because these stories won’t be around forever if we don’t save them. I wanted our family—the grandchildren, the great- grandchildren, and descendants who follow—to know about the neighborhood where our parents were born and lived their entire lives. I asked Mom and Dad if they would participate in the project, and to my surprise, they both agreed. I began capturing the conversations and Q&A sessions on my smartphone’s voice recorder app. The plan was to publish in 2013, INTRODUCTION ix

but I started working on another project, and the Halls Hill project fell by the wayside. After my dad passed in January 2014, I was reinvigorated to get the project completed. I did a few more inter- views with Mom. I dove into research, but again I got sidetracked and did not finish writing. My mom passed away on Thanksgiving 2017. I promised myself soon after that I would complete this project to preserve the stories and history. I want to thank my siblings for allowing me to interview them and include their stories in this book. I love you all, and I appreci- ate the way you always support my ideas, projects, and plans in any and every way you can. I love our family, and I am so proud to document just a little of our family’s history and the unique role the Halls Hill community played in our lives. Now for a few notes about the book. The heart-shaped “word cloud” on the cover includes the names of the streets in the community. Some may not be familiar with Frederick Street on Halls Hill. Before George Mason Drive construction in 1967–1968 extended the road through to Lee Highway, the 2200 block of Emerson Street was Frederick Street. Additionally, there were a few ways our racial identity was clas- sified in America during the period covered in My Halls Hill Fam- ily: More Than a Neighborhood: African-American, black, Negro, colored. Rather than use a variety of terms, I decided to primarily use the term “black” to refer to us throughout the book. Similarly, there has always been a debate about Halls Hill versus Hall’s Hill among community members. I made a self-publishing x MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

decision that may irritate the grammar police. I am aware that the word should have an apostrophe to show possessiveness. How- ever, I decided to follow the direction of the older generation in our community. The county government funded community art projects in the early 2000s. Our neighborhood project, Memory Bricks/The Family, was created by Winnie Owens-Hart in 2004 as the welcoming gateway to our neighborhood. During the design concept stage, the John M. Langston Citizens Association held a brainstorming session, led by Ms. Hart, with the community. My dad and I attended with about 50 other residents. The question was raised whether to include the apostrophe or not. The overwhelm- ing consensus was to eliminate it. I continue to honor that decision with this book and the Halls Hill project. That’s how I think my daddy would have liked it. I am sure I’ve made a mistake somewhere in these pages and I apologize in advance. I had no intent to mischaracterize any event or remembrance described. I am telling things as I either read or heard them during my research. As I have worked on this project over the years, I’ve shared the idea with people. Many of them expressed an interest in also sharing their Halls Hill stories. If you are interested, please visit HallsHill.com and click on “Share Your Story.” The website will grow and expand to share Halls Hill stories by anyone who wants to participate. You can also join the virtual Halls Hill community. Like My Halls Hill Family on Facebook, follow HallsHill on Twit- ter and ImWilmaJ on Instagram. INTRODUCTION xi

When people from other areas hear about the Halls Hill project, they often mention a place they know of that faced or is facing similar challenges as a community. Neighborhoods are changing rapidly in America. I encourage you to document your community’s history to continue sharing the stories. Neighborhoods similar to Halls Hill are all across America, in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Whether facing gentrification or rural desolation, don’t let your neighborhood stories die. I hope this book inspires you to gather the stories from your community. Document them so your children and grandchildren might know your history, which is their history too. Visit HallsHill.com to join our virtual community! I hope to see you there.

CHAPTER 1

A Little Background on Halls Hill

alls Hill is a small neighborhood in northern Arlington, Vir- ginia. The people who grew up there during its heyday as an Hall-black neighborhood in the early to mid-1900s will always refer to it as “Halls Hill,” even though the county government offi- cially changed the name to High View Park years ago. Halls Hill was named for its location—a high hill in what had initially been Alexandria County—and the original property owner, Basil Hall. Hall, a white man, purchased 327 acres of land in 1850 for approximately $5,000 and started a plantation. Like most plantation owners in Virginia prior to the Civil War, Hall owned slaves to provide manual labor to work the land and ani- mals. The Halls were well known for the brutal way they man- aged their slaves. One of their female slaves, Jenny Farr, reached 2 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

her breaking point with Hall’s wife, Elizabeth. She threw her in the hearth, murdering her. Jenny was convicted and hanged on Febru- ary 26, 1858. Hall remarried, and the plantation thrived until the South addressed the issue of slavery. Virginia had voted to secede from the union, and although Hall voted against secession, he did not fare well during the Civil War. His property was the site of many Confederate and Union troop skirmishes, and in August 1861, he fled his home. The Union Army used the site as a camp for the remainder of the war. Following the war, Hall returned the plantation, which was staffed by laborers. Many of them were freed slaves who lived in rented shacks on the plantation. Hall continued his cruel treatment of the black people who worked on the plantation and was eventu- ally charged with assault and battery and inhuman treatment of black people in his employ in 1866. In the post–Civil War era, the courts in Virginia would not hear any cases brought against white people if black people were the persons harmed. The federal government had established a military court with a provost marshal to adjudicate these cases. Despite sufficient evidence, Hall’s attorney convinced President Andrew Johnson to intercede in the matter. Johnson directed the military provost to drop the case and have it addressed in civil court. Of course, no court in Virginia would proceed with the case, so Hall was never punished. Hall attempted to sell his land as one lot in 1872 but was unable to make a deal. He then began to sell smaller lots of property to A Little Background on Halls Hill 3

white men. These men established farms using black laborers, who rented shacks on their respective farms. Black people inhabited Halls Hill, but it wasn’t until November 9, 1881, that black people were able to purchase land. Hall sold one acre of his land to Thorn- ton Hyson and Charles W. Chinn for $108 and continued to sell his land to black people until he died in 1888. One other black man, a former slave named Moses Jackson, owned property on Halls Hill in the 1880s. Jackson’s owner gave him the land on what became part of Halls Hill upon his freedom. There was an area adjacent to Halls Hill called High View Park. Black residents of Halls Hill referred to this area as “The Bot- tom.” Part of Basil Hall’s original purchase, High View Park was a wooded area of about 49 acres. In June 1892, Hall’s family sold the property to a developer, who subdivided the land later that year and began to build and market homes and building lots to blacks. Following the Civil War, there were many black people in self- contained communities in Arlington, in addition to the Halls Hill neighborhood: Freedman’s Village, Queen City, Johnson’s Hill, and Green Valley in southern Arlington and Pelhamtown in northern Arlington, not far from Halls Hill. Near what is now Marymount University, Pelhamtown got its name because most of the land- owners were Pelhams, a prominent black family during the 1880s and 1890s in Arlington. There are two reasons Pelhamtown’s residents moved away. One was that in the early 1900s, a white developer purchased property adjacent to Pelhamtown. He then worked with the 4 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

county government to change access rights to a road by removing easements that had allowed residents of Pelhamtown to enter their properties. This action resulted in some black residents of Pelham- town becoming landlocked. They had no way to access their land and were forced to sell. The other is what William Pelham, who moved from Pelhamtown to Halls Hill in the 1930s, advised of his personal experience when the county government required homes to be connected to the sewer system after World War I. However, the county would not allow blacks in that part of Arlington to con- nect their homes to the system. The homeowners couldn’t secure an occupancy permit, so they had to sell. As a result of these reasons, many residents moved to Halls Hill. CHAPTER 2

Dad’s Family

y family doesn’t know a lot about our history. We are like many American descendants of slaves. Our ancestors were Mbrought to this country against their will to become property, providing free labor to build this country. My dad’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth, was born a slave in 1847 in Norfolk, Virginia. She came to Alexandria County after emancipation and in 1870 married Henry King. They resided in Alexandria County, in what is now the Cherrydale area of Arlington. Henry and Eliz- abeth had five children: Mary, born in 1871; Julia, born in 1873; Fannie, my dad’s mom, born on October 6, 1874; and one son, Wil- liam, born in 1883. Henry also had a daughter with an unknown woman on June 18, 1885, named Ida. She was my dad’s Aunt Ida, and he was close to her. 6 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

My grandmother, Fannie King, was a domestic worker for white families, like most black women. She married Bernard Evans on November 6, 1900. They lived in D.C. and had three children, Ralph Bernard, born in 1902; William, born in 1905; and Almeda, born in 1907. Bernard died in 1910, making my grandmother a widow. Around that time, Elizabeth King, my great-grandmother, left the Cherrydale area and moved to Halls Hill, where she purchased a home at 1923 North Dinwiddie Street for herself and Aunt Ida to live. A former slave, she was my first relative to live and own property on Halls Hill. Shortly after, Fannie and her three children also moved to Halls Hill, to 1925 North Edison Street. Black people began leaving Cherrydale in the early 1900s. The Cherrydale and Ballston areas of Arlington had a growing Ku Klux Klan membership, and racism was unrestrained. By the 1920s, the Ballston Klan had its own marching band, sponsored a youth baseball team, and owned a field for cross burnings at the current site of the Ballston Quarter. Those neighborhoods were becoming uncomfortable places for black people to live, so many of them moved to Halls Hill to feel safer. Orze Jones was my dad’s father, and his origin is more of a mys- tery. Orze’s parents were Henry Jones, born in 1834 in Hanover, Virginia, and a woman named Ann, also born in Hanover, around 1836. Our family’s oral history documents that both Henry and Ann were born slaves on a plantation. My dad always thought his dad was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, in 1865, as is noted on Dad’s Family 7

the 1930 U.S. Census. However, on the 1880 U.S. Census, Orze is listed as 23 years old, having been born in 1857. That date is also confirmed on the 1910 U.S. Census, where he is listed as a “mulatto,” meaning one of his parents may have been white, but there is no evidence to support that information. I think my paternal grandfather, Orze, was probably born a slave to Henry and Ann in 1857 in Hanover County. By 1869 Henry, Ann, and Orze had moved to Loudoun County. I assume Orze fibbed about his birth year on the 1930 census because he didn’t want anyone on Halls Hill to know he was born a slave. It makes you realize how little time has passed since black people were property. It hit me hard when I realized that my granddaddy was likely born a slave, just two generations ago. Orze Jones married a woman named Ida Lewis on January 6, 1897. They had one child, a daughter. My dad didn’t know any- thing about my grandfather being married before or the possibility that he had a half sister! One of my siblings discovered this information during genealogy research. Orze’s union with the former Miss Lewis ended (the reason is unknown), and my grandfather moved in with his sister, Sally, and her family, in Loudoun, according to the household’s 1910 U.S. Census response. Around 1917 Orze traveled from Loudoun County to Arling- ton in search of work. Most black men were laborers, unless they had a skill or some resources to create an entrepreneurial hustle. There were minimal opportunities for former slaves to be edu- cated, and Virginia was well known for rampant racism. Following the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 supporting 8 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

separate but equal facilities, Jim Crow laws, supporting rigid segregation of the races, flourished in Virginia. Halls Hill was well known to black people all around Virginia and North Carolina as a good place to settle. Blacks could more easily purchase property, and it was close to Washington, D.C. Seg- regation wasn’t quite as bad across the bridge, in the city. In this area, an industrious black man could earn something approaching a living wage. Since my granddaddy Orze left Loudoun in search of work, it made perfect sense that he would end up in Halls Hill. We don’t know how Orze Jones met Fannie King Evans. When asked, my dad said it was probably at an event at Calloway Meth- odist Church, or maybe somebody introduced them at a neighborhood gathering. We don’t know precisely when they were married either, but we do know their only child, my daddy, George Mason Jones, was born on February 3, 1919, at their home on Halls Hill at 1925 North Edison Street. The country was facing a challenging period the year my dad was born. World War I ended November 11, 1918; President The- odore Roosevelt died in his sleep on January 6, 1919; and a race riot broke out in South Carolina in May 1919, when three black men were killed, marking the beginning of “Red Summer.” The red referred to blood. Black blood. In more than 30 cities, race riots broke out due to what was characterized as “postwar social ten- sions.” In reality, black troops returned home from the war and began to migrate north for job opportunities because there were labor shortages in many industrial cities. In 1919 hundreds of black Dad’s Family 9

people were killed in these riots, and nothing was done about it. In fact, a white mob even attacked black sailors in Norfolk, Virginia, returning from the war. Black leaders began to speak out, organize, and demand action from President Woodrow Wilson’s adminis- tration. Notably, W. E. B. Du Bois penned an essay, “Returning Soldiers,” in which he says, “We return. We return from fighting. We return fighting.” A significant race riot occurred in Washing- ton, D.C., only a few miles from Halls Hill. This was the cultural environment for black people in America in 1919. The residents of Halls Hill were undoubtedly concerned.

CHAPTER 3

Mom’s Family

y mother’s family has a very different background. Mom’s family includes ancestors who were free black people during Mthe Civil War as well as what we now call biracial children, from interracial relationships. In fact, my mom’s genetic ancestry report reflects her “ethnicity estimate” at 56 percent European and only 43 percent African, so my family is biracial. This is not surprising. My maternal grandfather, Clarence Greene, was born March 9, 1887, in Bowling Green, Maryland. His father was Pleasant T. Green, born in 1846 in Virginia. We don’t know the identity of the mother of Pleasant’s children. Granddaddy Clarence had three siblings: Ferguson Green, born in 1884; Neller Green, born in 1882; and Roland Green, born in 1880. Pleasant lived in Montgomery 12 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

County, Maryland, from the late 1890s until his death. You may notice that my great-grandfather changed the spelling of his last name at some point, from “Green” to “Greene,” as all his siblings’ records reflect the spelling with no “e” at the end. My maternal grandmother, Mary Baker, was born in Febru- ary 1884 in Warrenton, Virginia. Her mother, my maternal great- grandmother, was Elizabeth Baker, born in 1862 in Virginia. Her parents were Fannie Smith, born in 1847, and Louis Baker, born in 1837. The family lived in the Warrenton area of Fauquier County, Virginia, where they owned a farm. They were free black people, and together they had nine children. Elizabeth Baker had my grandmother, Mary, when she was only 15 years old. We don’t know the identity of Mary’s father. Elizabeth left Mary with her mother so she could work as a domestic worker in a white family’s home to help provide for her daughter. As a result, Mary was raised primarily by her grandmother Fannie. Mary’s mother would later marry George Anderson and have two children with him. Clarence Greene and Mary Baker married on September 3, 1914, in Washington, D.C. They lived in the city when their first two children were born: Helen, in 1915, and Clarence, on March 17, 1918. In late 1918 they purchased a home at 2220 North Frederick Street and moved to Halls Hill. My mom thinks the family moved to Halls Hill because her grandmother, Elizabeth, and George Ander- son were living in Ballston on Glebe Road near the intersection of Wilson Boulevard. Their third child, Dennis Pleasant, was born on July 9, 1919, on Halls Hill. Next came Erroll Glovenia, “Beanie,” Mom’s Family 13

on February 3, 1921, followed by their last child, my mom, Idabel, on May 6, 1922. Uncle Dede, Aunt Beanie, and Mom were born at home, as were most Americans at the time, both black and white. When my mom was a young child, her dad, Clarence, worked for the Government Printing Office as a janitor. This was a good job for a black man in the 1920s, and the family was doing well. Granddaddy Clarence decided he wanted to try his hand at being a farmer too. They rented the property on Halls Hill and initially moved to a farm in Forestville, Maryland. Later they moved to another farm, in Branchville, Maryland, probably because that is where Clarence’s dad, Pleasant, lived. Branchville is where Grand- daddy Clarence was killed in a tragic fire when my mom was 8 years old. One evening he was in the garage putting gas in their car. A kerosene lamp was providing light. The lantern ignited the gas and began to burn the structure. Granddaddy Clarence was gravely injured when he tried to drive the car out of the garage. He was rushed to Providence Hospital in northeast Washington, D.C., but he died less than a week later, on April 26, 1931. That was a life-changing event for my mom. She went from a happy-go-lucky child on a farm in suburban Maryland with a stable family and comfortable financial position to the youngest of five children of a widow, who had to move the family back to their home on Halls Hill. In the early years of the Great Depression, my grandmother had to figure out how to feed and clothe her family by herself. When Granddaddy Clarence died, Aunt Helen was 15 years old, Uncle Clarence was 14, Uncle Dede was 11, and Aunt Beanie was 14 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

10. I can’t imagine what my grandmother, whom we lovingly called Nana, had to deal with, but she handled it. Nana got my mom, aunts, and uncles back to Arlington and into school. She began to take in laundry and other domestic work while my eldest aunt and uncles went to work either full time or after school to help support the family financially. Not too long after, Helen got married and moved to D.C. with her husband, Luther Bruner. Their eldest son, Luther, was born in 1934, followed in 1935 by his younger brother, Donald. Nana enrolled my mom, Aunt Beanie, and Uncle Dede at the local segregated elementary school, John M. Langston, when they returned to Halls Hill. My dad had been a student there since the school opened in 1925. The teachers were rigorous, but they were nice, according to my mom. There was no lunch served, so the children went home during the day to eat and then returned to school in the afternoon. Both my mom and dad enjoyed school very much. CHAPTER 4

School and Community

ike many school districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Arlington County has a not-so-stellar record of educating Lblack people. Of course, all schools in Arlington were entirely segregated until 1959. But even their history of providing “separate but equal” education fell short on every occasion. The first school opened in Arlington for black students was the Arlington School at Freedman’s Village. The second was Kemper School, in 1876, which was held in Lomax A.M.E. Zion Church until a building was completed in 1883. Kemper School grew, and a new building was completed in the late 1880s. There was Sum- ner School on Halls Hill as early as 1913, but I’m unsure of exactly when it opened. My dad remembered it as a frame building that had two small classrooms. The staff in 1913 comprised two teachers, 16 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Ms. E. B. Holmes and Miss B. V. Thomas, and the principal, Mr. L. C. Baltimore. In 1916 the Jefferson School opened in the Johnson’s Hill area. That school later became Hoffman-Boston, Arlington’s secondary school for black children. Within a few years, as Halls Hill grew, the need for a larger school with better construction became evident. The community requested a new school around 1920, and a few years later the county government approved construction of a new elementary school on Halls Hill. The school was funded with contributions from a private foundation, the county government, and the Halls Hill community. On August 15, 1924, the school district opened bids for construction. More than 1,000 people attended the installation of the cornerstone for the new school, to be named John M. Langston School after the abolitionist, attorney, educator, activist, diplomat, and politician who was the first dean of Howard University Law School. The Grand Order of Odd Fellows Hopewell Lodge No. 1700 laid the stone. The lodge was a prominent membership organization on Halls Hill. Led by Moses Jackson, George H. Hyson, Shirley Snowden, Joseph Bolden, and Horace Shelton, in August 1888, they purchased a one-acre parcel of land on Halls Hill from Basil Hall to build their lodge’s hall. Langston opened in 1925 with four classrooms and two grades per class from first through eighth grade. It was a brand-new brick building and a vast improvement over Sumner School. Mr. Balti- more was the principal at Langston when it opened. Another Halls Hill institution was established in 1918 and became a bedrock of the community: Fire Station 8. Initially known School and Community 17

as the Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department, this all-black, volunteer unit was organized because white fire companies refused to serve the Halls Hill community. The first captain was Robert Nickerson, who lived on North Culpeper Street. Fire Station 8 was a source of pride in the neighborhood and around the region. These brave men provided service to the entire Arlington community, not just Halls Hill. In plenty of situations, they endured racism from white citizens whose homes they were attempting to save. They served with pride and distinction and represented Halls Hill and Arling- ton positively. Many communities held firemen’s parades, where different fire stations would march in their uniforms displaying the station’s fire equipment. The D.C. parade in 1933 had over 50 fire stations participate from New Jersey, Maryland, D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina. The Halls Hill community supported Fire Station 8 at this and similar events around the region. Arlington County was known for its record of community involvement and civic engagement, commonly known as “The Arlington Way.” Neighborhood civic associations advocated for issues important to their communities, and Halls Hill was no different. In December 1937, the community established the John M. Langston Citizens Association to represent the Halls Hill community in matters large and small concerning the welfare of the community. Robert Branch was the first president. As one of the oldest civic associations in Arlington County, it was integral to improv- ing the community, encouraging the residents to participate and support issues important to Halls Hill. The Citizens Association 18 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

worked to make sure Halls Hill had a seat at the table equal to other Arlington neighborhoods. When my mom and dad were young children growing up on Halls Hill, it was a completely rural area. As my dad would say, “lots of open space.” There weren’t a lot of homes, and the neighborhood streets were dirt roads. The main road through north Arlington, Lee Highway, was a concrete road with many ruts and holes. When my parents were young, Lee Highway was one lane in either direction. During bad weather, driving on the road was extremely dan- gerous. In fact, in March 1926, Everett Breckenridge, a Halls Hill resident, was a passenger in a truck that was jolted by a rut, caus- ing him to be ejected from the vehicle. The truck then ran over him. He later died from his injuries. After inspection, the “rut” was found to be 2 to 3 feet deep. Homes on Halls Hill were primarily small one- or two-story frame houses. Wood stoves warmed the homes. There were no water or sewer systems in the community. Everyone on Halls Hill had an outhouse. The honey wagon that came to dispose of the human waste sent kids running as it approached. I’ve been told by everyone who has ever smelled one that it was the worst thing they’d ever smelled. More than half the neighborhood homeowners had wells dug outside their homes to provide water. The people who had wells freely shared water with those who didn’t have a well on their property. There was no money exchanged or barter- ing. It was all about community.

CHAPTER 11

The Fight for School Equality Begins

eanwhile, things were heating up in the struggle to get ade- quate school facilities for black children all over Virginia, Mincluding Arlington. The state constitution prohibited white and black children from attending the same public school. Schools were supposed to be separate but equal facilities. In September 1947 Constance Carter, a black resident of the Green Valley neighborhood in south Arlington, sued the Arlington school superinten- dent and the Arlington County School Board to enter whites-only Washington-Lee High School, because Hoffman-Boston, the segregated school for blacks, did not offer the advanced classes in which she wanted to enroll. In addition, Hoffman-Boston School was not accredited, and graduates of the school could not be accepted into 64 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

college with an unaccredited diploma (without additional proof of qualification). Carter’s attorney, Leon A. Ransom, worked for Hill, Martin, and Robinson, a black law firm in Richmond, VA. Martin A. Mar- tin, one of the firm’s three founders, was the chief attorney on school desegregation cases in King George and Gloucester coun- ties in Virginia. Oliver Hill, one of the law firm’s other founders, was about to begin his term on the recently established and newly elected Richmond City Council. He was the first black man to have a post of this stature in Virginia. In May 1948 the Arlington County School Board released a study that showed 26 percent of Arlington school-age children did not attend Arlington County public schools. Among black students, the total was 23 percent, with only 7 percent of white students attending schools outside Arlington. In fact, because of the lack of an accredited school for black students, Arlington began to pay for 12th graders who petitioned the school board to attend D.C. public schools. Their diplomas would allow them to be con- sidered for acceptance into college. George Mason was promoted to first grade after completing kindergarten at Mother Goose School. In September 1948 Mom and Dad enrolled George at the still-segregated Langston School to begin first grade. That month, nine black high school students and their parents were turned away from Washington-Lee High School after being denied the opportunity to enroll by the principal, Claude M. Richmond. The same month, Arlington County The Fight for School Equality Begins 65

School Board agreed to pay the tuition of black students from Arlington who attended a black vocational school in Manassas. The black community in Arlington, including the churches and respective citizens associations, were fighting to have equal facilities at Hoffman-Boston. The Arlington School Board felt the pressure to provide these services if they had any hope of fighting integration in the public schools. The examples of unequal facilities included geography books printed in 1920, no gymnasium (so no physical education classes), no stadium, and students from first grade through 12th grade having classes in the same building. None of these circumstances were true of Washington-Lee. The school board quickly approved over $20,000 in improvements for Hoffman-Boston. In June 1949 Hoffman-Boston High School was placed on the “qualified” list. Finally, graduates of the school would receive accredited diplomas. In September 1949 two black students who had moved to Green Valley, transferring from Dunbar and Armstrong high schools in D.C., sued the Arlington County School Board. They documented that Hoffman-Boston did not offer the same level of advanced classes, such as Latin and Spanish III, which were offered at their D.C. public schools. Their cases were denied. By October 1949 Arlington County was paying for 33 students to attend the vocational school in Manassas. Miss Carter’s case was denied in December 1949. The judge declared the advanced classes would be available at Hoffman-Boston 66 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

if “qualified students required them.” The Arlington County School Board had won another battle. In summer 1950 Jessie Butler, a resident of Halls Hill, filed a lawsuit against the Arlington County registrar challenging the validity of Virginia’s poll tax law. Although the state attorney gen- eral attempted to have the case dismissed, a federal judge refused to throw the case out, and it proceeded through the court system. In February 1951 a three-judge panel upheld the poll tax. Unde- terred, Butler directed her attorney to appeal her case to the U.S. Supreme Court in May 1951. The fight for equality and civil rights was heating up across the country, and Halls Hill residents and organizations were fully engaged. Although the government had won the cases thus far, they would soon discover that the fight was only beginning. CHAPTER 12

Exciting but Anxious Times

amilies on Halls Hill were thriving in 1950. Both black and white builders were constructing new homes. Residents were Fjoining the neighborhood almost every month, and a lot of babies were being born in households all around the community. That includes the Jones family. Mom and Dad were expecting their fourth child in summer 1951. George Mason had completed third grade and was involved in activities at school, at church, and in the neighborhood. But during summer, like many boys, he preferred to play baseball with his friends all day if allowed. Mike was 4 years old, curious, and into everything. Roz was 3 years old and the baby of the family. Everyone, especially Uncle Dede, adored her. Mike and Roz were in the preschool class at Mount Salvation Sunday School, where Dede was a faithful member of the adult class. He sat 68 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

in the same pew in the aisle seat in the back of the sanctuary on the right side. Everyone knew that was Mr. Dennis’s seat. One Friday that July, the kids were totally excited because the next day was the Mount Salvation Sunday School’s annual beach trip. Church beach trips were a big deal. There were few places black families could go swimming and gather like this. If you missed the annual trip, you likely wouldn’t have another chance until the next year. The beaches were segregated, so they couldn’t go to Ocean City. That year, they were headed to Carr and Sparrow’s Beach in Annapolis, MD. Mom had been on maternity leave from her clerk position since late May, awaiting the arrival of the new baby. She spent a good portion of her day that Friday making sandwiches, potato salad, deviled eggs, and fried chicken. She got all the food, swimsuits, and towels ready for the next day’s beach trip. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, Mom told Dad that the baby was coming. They knew the kids would be disappointed if they could not make the beach trip, so Dad picked up Nana and took her and Mom to the hospital, then went home after Mom was admitted and packed the car and the kids. They drove to the church and joined the caravan of vehicles, full of church members, neighbors, and friends traveling to the beach. After a fun day at the shore, dad took the three kids to his mom’s house. He left for Freedman’s Hospital to check on Mom and find out whether the new baby was his third son or second daughter. Upon arrival at the maternity ward, dad was shocked to discover that Mom had delivered twins. He had both a third Exciting but Anxious Times 69

son and a second daughter! When I interviewed him 60 years later and asked what his thoughts were at that moment, he told me, “All I thought was, ‘We need a second crib. And a whole lot more diapers.” Mom was doing fine. Nana was especially happy about the twins. She and Dad returned to Halls Hill while Mom stayed at the hospital with the babies. In the 1950s it was customary for mothers and babies to remain at the hospital postdelivery for 4 or 5 days. My brother Lynwood Nathan was born a couple of minutes before his twin, Lydia Natalie. Their godparents were Adele and James Williams, friends of my parents. The Williams family lived at 1950 North Emerson Street, on the corner of 20th and Emer- son. We called their house the “catty-corner” house, as it faced (and still does) the corner, not one street or the other. Miss Adele was a hairdresser and a Halls Hill entrepreneur. She had a salon on Lee Highway. My mom, aunts, sisters, and a lot of folks on Halls Hill and in Falls Church and other areas were her faithful clients for many years. The Williamses were also members of Mount Salva- tion and the Citizens Association. Mom and Dad were godparents to the Williamses’ first child, Warren Williams. Our families, like so many others on Halls Hill, were connected by multiple threads throughout the community. Things in the Jones family were going well in 1951. Dad was still working at the Washington Navy Yard in the machine shop. George was in fourth grade at Langston, in Mrs. Clark’s class, he believes. 70 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Nana babysat for Mom a lot, watching George, Mike, and Roz. Frequently, George and Mike hung out at the next-door neighbor’s house, Miss Edgie’s. Miss Edgie and Mr. Sam were trusted friends of the family. Mike remembers their dog Snowball, a little white Pomeranian. Mike learned to read at their house. He used to read the comics from the newspaper out loud, and Miss Edgie would correct him and help him learn. George used to visit their home and go to the store for them, purchasing items from the Hickses’ or Hysons’ store. At 9 years old, he was old enough to earn a few extra coins by running errands. He also enjoyed their pear trees. The Harringtons had quite a few pear trees in their yard, which George and his friends remember as being quite tasty. After the twins were born, the three older kids were at both Nana’s and Grandma Jones’s more frequently, as Mom had her hands full with five kids: a 9-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and two infants. Having extended family watch your kids was quite common on Halls Hill, as many people had a lot of family living in the neighborhood. The majority of families had a grandmother or aunt living close by. Roz remembers when Nana would babysit her when she had a cold. Nana would call her to give her a dose of Father John’s cough medicine, and she would run the other way, hiding under Nana’s big wooden bed, far in the back, so they couldn’t reach her. She still remembers how nasty the medicine tasted. Although things were going well for most people on Halls Hill, there was tension in the world, and once again it affected our Exciting but Anxious Times 71

community. The Korean War broke out in summer 1950 when North Korea (supported by China and the Soviet Union) attacked South Korea (supported by the U.S and the UN). The U.S. decided to send troops, and the government held another military draft. Uncle Clarence was drafted again and shipped to South Korea to fight. He reached the rank of staff sergeant and was recognized for his ingenuity in developing a device to work with some munitions that significantly advanced capabilities. Mike began kindergarten at Mother Goose in September 1951 at 4 years old. He could already read, and with Mom having Roz and the twins, my parents figured Mike could attend Mother Goose for 2 years before starting first grade at Langston. Mike loved school, and he excelled at Mother Goose. Although Michael was obviously very bright, he’d also begun to be the joker in the family. He was the one to either make everyone laugh or be the antagonist. Poor Roz suffered from Michael’s actions more than any of the other siblings. Sometimes Mom would send the three older children to walk to Nana’s together if Dad wasn’t available to drive them. Michael used to walk a little behind Roz and throw pebbles—or maybe they were rocks—at her. Of course, he denied everything once they reached Nana’s. George wasn’t a saint either during this period. As they got a little older, on occasion Mama would leave George in charge. The duties during those brief periods often included cleaning up the kitchen. George would push a chair up to the kitchen sink and tie an apron around 5- or 6-year-old Roz and have her wash the dishes! 72 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

In early 1952 Mrs. Nickerson recommended to Mom and Dad that they have Michael tested for early entrance into first grade. She believed he was prepared after one year of the prekindergarten program, based on his progress. Mike successfully passed the test and would start first grade at Langston in the fall at five years old. P Another blow to the efforts for equality hit in June 1951 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of Virginia’s poll tax law. Butler’s attorney was the Arlington County treasurer. After losing the case, he was so disgusted with the ruling that he requested to be removed as a member of the Supreme Court bar and have his name “stricken from the roll.” Challenges to school systems regarding education for blacks in Virginia were beginning to heat up. Initially, the efforts were to get separate but equal facilities, courses, and services. There were lawsuits filed all over Virginia. The NAACP’s special counsel, led by Thurgood Marshall, represented the plaintiffs in Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County, Virginia, where the federal three-judge panel ruling supported separate schools. The panel cited segregation as “one of the ways of life in Virginia.” The plaintiffs appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1952 the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated the Prince Edward case with other cases in the district, Delaware, Kansas, and South Carolina and the Arlington case. Exciting but Anxious Times 73

Locally, our Citizens Association shifted their focus to secur- ing equality for black residents. Leaders in the group during this period were Charles Chinn, Caroline Whaley, Viola Bolden, Mark Hicks, E. Leslie Hamm Sr., and Birdie Alston. The association played an active role in black residents gaining access to Arlington public libraries and being selected to be jurors in Arlington courts. Organizing with Mount Salvation and Calloway, they worked closely with the Arlington branch of the NAACP and Oliver Hill, Martin A. Martin, and Spottswood Robinson of the Richmond law firm Hill, Martin & Robinson. In a few of the early meetings, Mar- shall, the founder of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, led the strategy discussion. According to Rev. James E. Browne, it was during one of these meetings that Attorney Marshall suggested the community shift their direction. At that point, the community’s efforts were focused on getting the county school board to offer courses and services at Hoffman- Boston equivalent to those provided at Washington-Lee. Marshall directed the group to consider pursuing complete integration of the schools rather than settling for separate but equal facilities. The strategy shifted to integration after that meeting.

INDEX

WJ refers to Wilma Jones. A Alabama National Guard, 124 Ali, Muhammad, 161 Allen, Wash and Rose, 39 Allen’s Store, 39–40, 101, 158, 170 Almond, J. Lindsay, 93, 95, 97, 108 Alston, Birdie, 73, 138, 179 Alston, Mabel, 179 American Bandstand, 132 American University, 143 Anderson, Elizabeth Baker (WJ’s great-grandmother), 12 Anderson, George, 12 Anderson, John J., 140 Ann (WJ’s great-grandmother), 6–7 186 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Arlington (Virginia) black communities in, 3 civic associations in, 17–18 (see also John M. Langston Citizens Association) employment opportunities for blacks, 45 Ku Klux Klan in, 6, 48, 95 racism in, 26, 37–38 (see also discrimination; Jim Crow laws; segregation) Arlington Civic Federation, 47 Arlington Committee to Preserve Public Schools, 94–95 Arlington Community Action Program, 163 Arlington County Board on desegregation of lunch counters, 119 “Negro park” and playground opposed by, 51–52 Neighborhood Conservation Program, 138 progressiveness of, 139 transportation planning, 138–39 Arlington County Police Department, 163 Arlington County schools/School Board. See integregation; Pupil Placement Board; schools; segregation Arlington Hospital, 52, 139–40 Arlingtonians for a Better County, 139–40 Arlington School (Freedman’s Village), 15 Armstrong Senior High School, 34–35 INDEX 187

B Baker, Elizabeth (WJ’s great-grandmother), 12 Baker, Fannie Smith (WJ’s great-great-grandmother), 12 Baker, Louis (WJ’s great-great-grandfather), 12 Baker, Mary. See Greene, Mary Baker Ballston (Arlington, Va.), 6, 48 Baltimore, L. C., 15–16 Baltimore Orioles, 152 Baptist Center, 88 barbecues, 56–57, 89–90, 175 baseball, 20–21, 29, 101–2 Basil Hall, 1–4 Baskerville, Rudolph, 75 beach trips, 68 Bell, Archie, 167–68 Bell, Gene, 75 Berry, Chuck, 103 Best, David, 154 Best, Doris, 154 Best, John, 76, 154 Best, Mrs. John Cooper, 75 biracial families, 11 Black Entertainment Television, 181 black music, 129, 132, 155, 167. See also R&B music Black Panther newspaper, 162 Black Panther Party, 161–62 188 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

black people activism by, 160–63, 169–70, 177 (see also civil rights movement) education for, 37, 63–66, 72 (see also specific schools and universities) employment opportunities, 3, 7, 37, 45, 77 equality for, 63–66, 73, 163 hospitals as not serving, 43, 46, 139–40 as police officers, 163 as property owners, 3 on television, 132 as veterans, 9, 47 white violence toward, 2 black power, 160 Black United Front, 162, 169–70, 177 Blaine, Roland, 144 Bolden, Joseph, 16 Bolden, Viola, 73 Boy Scouts, 135 Branch, Robert, 17 Breckenridge, Everett, 18 Brent, Lillian, 143–44 Brown, Chester, 155 Brown, Debbie, 157 Brown, Gail, 146, 147 Brown, James (Halls Hill resident), 154 INDEX 189

Brown, James (singer), 116, 129, 146, 175 Brown, James H., 146 Brown, Kenneth, 154 Brown, Lillian, 146, 162–63 Brown, Mamie, 146 Brown, Richard (“Babe”), 20–21, 146, 154 Brown, Roy, 60 Brown, Sheila, 92, 146 Brown, Theodore, 144 Browne, Hazel, 59, 85, 91, 117, 128, 142, 171 Browne, James, Jr. (“Jimmy”), 91–92, 129, 133, 135 Browne, James E., Sr., 59, 73, 88–89, 94, 128, 135, 142 Browne, Lillian, 91 Brown v. Board of Education, 79–80 Broyhill, Joel T., 109–10 Bruner, Donald (WJ’s cousin), 14, 42, 90 Bruner, Helen Greene (WJ’s aunt), 42 birth, 12 childhood, 13 church attended, 28 relationship with sister, 46 Bruner, Luther (WJ’s uncle), 14, 42 Bruner, Luther (WJ’s cousin), 14, 42, 90, 163–64 Bryan, Albert V., 82 Butler, Diane, 159 Butler, Jerry, 103, 129 190 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Butler, Jessie, 66, 72 Byrd, Harry, 79–81

C Calloway, Winston, 27 Calloway Methodist Church, vii activities, 58 anniversaries, 30, 58–59, 145, 154 and the Citizens Association, 73 civic activism by, 164 fashion show and festival, 175 founding/naming, 27 fund-raising events, 154–55 growth/improvements, 89 movie nights, 88, 127 school integration efforts, 96 Tom Thumb weddings, 154–55 Vacation Bible School, 88 canning, 45–46 Carmichael, Stokely, 162 Carpenter, Aaron, 155–56, 159 Carpenter, Bernard, 184 Carpenter, John, 19, 89 Carpenter family, 183 Carr and Sparrow’s Beach, 68 Carroll, Johnny, 148 INDEX 191

Carter, Constance, 63–66 Carter, Eunice Lewis, 117 Carver Theater, 127 Casto, Harold J., 139 celebrations, 30–31, 174 Charles, Ray, 116 Checker, Chubby, 129 Cherrydale (Arlington, Va.), 6, 48 Cherrydale Elementary School, 149 Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (C&P), 180–81 childbirth, hospital stay following, 69 child care by extended family, 70, 101 Chinn, Charles W., 3, 73, 89 Chinn, Freda, 21 Chinn family, 25, 39 Chitlin’ Circuit, 90–91 Christmas, 31 churches, 27–30, 57–58, 144–45. See also Calloway Methodist Church; Mount Salvation Baptist Church Civil Rights Act (1964), 137, 140 civil rights movement, 58, 66, 118–19, 124, 127, 136, 140, 160–62 Civil War, 2 Clark, Alfred, 84, 117, 158 Clark, Ann, 75 clubs/beer gardens, 92, 104, 170 192 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Cole, Nat King, 60, 103, 129 Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities, 96–97 community organizations supporting, 17–18, 45 (see also Fire Station 8; John M. Langston Citizens Association) sense of, vii, 173–74, 179–80, 183 Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), 162 Contee, Rosa Price Hyson (“RoRo”), 21, 38, 61 Cooke, Sam, 103, 129 CORE (Congress for Racial Equality), 162 corn whiskey, 24 Costley, Louis, 85 Costley, Louis George, 95 Costley, Melvin, 85, 95 Costley, Phyllis, 91, 154, 173 C&P (Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company), 180–81 Crutchfield family, 109

D Dannemann’s fabric store, 157–58 Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County, Virginia, 72 day care, 137 DeLashmutt, John E. and Betty, 83 Depression. See Great Depression desegregation. See integration; segregation Deskins, Clayton, 135, 155–56 INDEX 193

Deskins, Leslie, 147 Deskins, Peggy, 91 Deskins, Ronald, 75, 109–11 discrimination against black firefighters, 52 against black veterans, 47 criminalization of, 137 entrepreneurship arising from, 24–25, 40 by hospitals, 43, 46, 139–40 against parks/playgrounds for black children, 51–52 the draft, 41, 44, 47, 71, 146 Drew Elementary School, 125–26 drug use, 164 Du Bois, W. E. B., 9

E Ebony, 116–17 Echols, Mrs., 147 Edgie, Miss, 70 Edison Street, 38 Eldridge, Robert A., 95 Ellison, John, 170–71 Ellison, Oscar, 170 Emerson Street, ix entertainment, 90–92 entrepreneurs, 25, 38–40 194 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Epperson, Tyrone, 148 Evans, Almeda, 6, 56 Evans, Bernard, 6 Evans, Estelle (WJ’s aunt), 56, 89 Evans, Fannie King. See Jones, Fannie King Evans Evans, Henry (WJ’s uncle), 56 Evans, Ralph (WJ’s uncle), 24, 33–34, 56–58, 89–90 Evans, Ralph Bernard, 6 Evans, William, 6 Evers, Medgar, 136 extended families, 70, 101

F Falls Church Plumbing and Heating, 76 Farr, Jenny, 1–2 Ferguson, Dan, 19 Fernanders, Cheryl, 182 Fight Blight Program, 84 firemen’s parades, 17 Fire Station 8, vii, 84 equipment storage, 52 establishment, 16–17 new building, 126 as a volunteer fire department, 52 wartime rationing support by, 45–46 Fisher, Joseph L., 139 INDEX 195

Fordham University, 178 Forman, Alfred, 184 Forman, Nancy, 147 Four Tops, 146 Francis Junior High School, 33–34 Franklin, Aretha, 159, 167 Frazier, Kenneth, 145, 154 Frederick Street, ix Freedman’s Hospital, 43 Freedman’s Village (Arlington, Va.), 3, 15

G gardening, 22, 25, 40 Gardner, Delbert, 158 Gardner, Sherri, 177–78 gas stations, 87 Gaye, Marvin, 175 Genus, Mr. and Mrs. John William, 84 George Mason Drive, ix gerrymandering, 139 Glebe Movie Theater, 127 Glebewood Civic Association, 83–84 godparents, 43 Goolsby’s, 170 Graham, Shirley, 75 Grand Order of Odd Fellows Hopewell Lodge No. 1700, 16 196 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Gravett, Armistad, 20–21 Gray, Garland, 80 Gray Commission, 80–81 Great Depression, 13, 20–22, 33, 35, 37 Green, Ferguson (WJ’s great-uncle), 11 Green, Jerome (WJ’s cousin), 56, 90 Green, Mrs., 147 Green, Neller (WJ’s great-uncle), 11 Green, Pleasant T. (WJ’s great-grandfather), 11–12 Green, Roland (WJ’s great-uncle), 11 Green, Vance, 88, 171 Greene, Beanie. See Lacey, Erroll Glovenia Greene Greene, Clarence (WJ’s grandfather), 11–13 Greene, Clarence (WJ’s uncle) birth, 12 as a carpenter, 49, 90 childhood, 13 divorce, 76 family home, 42 marriage, 49 military service, 44, 71, 76 relationship with family, 90 Greene, Dennis Pleasant (“Dede”; WJ’s uncle) birth, 12 childhood, 13–14 church attended, 58 INDEX 197

education, 14, 67–68 family home, 42, 57 gardening by, 22 illness, 49, 126 living with Mom and Dad after Nana’s death, 126 military service, 44, 49 relationship with family, 90 relationship with Roz, 67, 90, 143, 157 Greene, Helen. See Bruner, Helen Greene Greene, Idabel. See Jones, Idabel Greene Greene, Mary Baker (“Nana”; WJ’s grandmother) babysitting by, 44, 60, 70, 90 church attended, 58 death, 126 family home, 42, 57, 76 gardening by, 22 marriage, 12 wartime hardships, 44 as a widow, 13–14 Green Valley (Arlington, Va.), 3, 46 Green Valley Athletics, 101 Griffin, Mr., 120–21

H Halloween, 30–31 Halls Hill (Arlington, Va.) 198 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

access by car, 87 as a black community, 3, 182 black migration to, 4, 6, 8, 173 businesses/stores, 25, 38–40, 170 (see also specific businesses) cleanup/improvements, 117, 125, 138 development, 25–26, 182–83 farms, 22 fences and walls around, 26, 38–39, 151–52 fruit trees, 22–23, 99–100 gentrification, 182–83 grape arbors, 23, 99 growth, 48, 67, 173 homes, 18–20, 67, 171 land values, 183 naming/name change of, ix–x, 1, 139 non-black families arrive, 182 outhouses, 18, 45, 76, 84 parties, 23–24, 35, 60, 90–91, 116, 128, 146, 175 rezoning, 83–84 roads/sidewalks, 84–85, 125, 138 rural beginnings, 18 safety for blacks in, 48 schools (see schools; and specific schools) “slum” designation of, 75–76 streets, 20 summer activities, 88, 116, 175 INDEX 199

unity/sense of community, vii, 173–74, 179–80, 183 water/sewer system, 18, 45, 76, 125 woods, 23 Halls Hill White Sox, 101 Hamm, Bernard, 158 Hamm, Carmela, 157, 177–78, 182 Hamm, Dorothy, 157, 179 Hamm, E. Leslie, Jr., 95, 112 Hamm, E. Leslie, Sr., 73, 110, 138, 179 Hargrove, Carolyn, 177–78 Harmony, Miss, 157 Harrington, Edgie Jefferson, 36 Harrington, Sam, 36, 70 Harrington family, 70 Harrison, Reggie (now Kamal Salaam-El), 168 Hayes, Charles, 75 Hendricks, Wilton, 75 Hicks, Mark, 73 Hicks family, 25, 39, 52 High’s Store, 170 High View Park (formerly Halls Hill; Arlington, Va.), 1, 3. See also Halls Hill Hill, Martin, and Robinson, 64, 73 Hill, Miss, 142 Hill, Oliver, 64, 73, 110 Hilltop, 162 200 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), 176 Hoffman-Boston (formerly Jefferson School; Johnson’s Hill), 16, 33, 63–66, 111, 118, 131 Hogans, Donna, 157, 177–78 holidays, 30–31 Holiness Church, 28 Holmes, E. B., 15–16 home and work life, 19–26, 115–24 baseball, 20–21, 29, 101–2 gardening, 22, 25, 40 job scarcity, 21–22 money-making activities, 24–25, 38–40 moonshine, 23–24 snowfall fun, 21 summer activities, 88, 116, 175 home-building boom, 48, 55 hospitals, black people not served by, 43, 46, 139–40 housing apartment buildings, 138, 179 homes in disrepair, 84 home values in black neighborhoods, 173–74 relocation of homes, 138–39, 179 yards, 175 zoning’s effects on single-family homes, 138, 171 Howard, John B., 159–60 Howard Theatre, 90–91 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 201

Howard University, 141, 147, 157, 162, 176 Howard University Hospital, 43 Howard University Law School, 16 Hughes, Langston, 47 Hunter, Clyde, 91, 128 Hunter, Warren, 128 Hyson, George H., 16 Hyson, Rosa Price (“RoRo”), 21, 38, 61 Hyson, Sammy, 20–21, 38, 61, 87 Hyson, Thornton, 3 Hyson family, 25, 39 Hyson’s Gas Station and Garage, 87

I Ighner, Benard, vii integration. See also segregation hospitals, 140 police departments, 163 schools, 73, 79–82, 86, 93–97, 108–13, 118–19, 125–26, 139 (see also Pupil Placement Board) schools, funding to support, 140 sports, 148 Interstate 66 highway, 138 Isley Brothers, 129, 175 202 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

J Jackson, Darnell (“Butter”), 178 Jackson, Kim, 178 Jackson, Montrose, Sr., 25, 101 Jackson, Moses, 3, 16, 27 Jackson, Willie, 147 Jackson family, 39, 178 Jefferson School (later named Hoffman-Boston; Johnson’s Hill), 16, 33 Jet, 116–17 Jim Crow laws, 8, 24, 35, 37–40, 47 Johansen, O. U., 177 John M. Langston Citizens Association, vii, x advocacy for the community, 45, 183 anniversary, 180 Culpeper Street wall project, 152 on equality for black people, 73 establishment/goals, 17 on homes in disrepair, 84 neighborhood cleanup/improvement by, 117–18, 138 rezoning opposed by, 83 school integration efforts, 96 water/sewer system demanded by, 45 John M. Langston School, vii, 75, 141 closing of, 147, 149, 174 integration of, 139, 148–49 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 203

lunch ladies and teachers at, 85–86, 142 May Day Celebrations, 31, 174 naming of, 16 opening of, 14 as segretated, 14, 118 Johnson, Andrew, 2 Johnson, Edythe MacAfee, 145 Johnson, Harold, 86, 95, 110, 170 Johnson, Harolyn and Rita, 95 Johnson, James and Louise, 85 Johnson, John (“Big John”), 145 Johnson, M. J., 145, 159 Johnson, Rita, 75 Johnson’s Hill (Arlington, Va.), 3, 16 Jones, Ashton, 55 Jones, Audrey Erroll (WJ’s sister) birth, 85 as a cashier, 158 church involvement, 88 education, 102, 121–22, 147 in Girl Scouts, 157 at Howard University, 179, 182 job at Dannemann’s, 158 marriage, 182 piano lessons, 143 relationship with Wilma, 115 204 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

as a statistical economist, 182 in student government leadership, 157, 166, 168, 175, 178 Jones, Fannie King Evans (WJ’s grandmother), 5–6, 8, 56, 90, 130 Jones, George Mason (WJ’s father) birth, 8 as a caddy, 25 childhood, 20 church attended, 57–58 church involvement, 145 as a custodian, 130, 174, 182 dancing/partying enjoyed, 91, 128 death, ix desegregation efforts, 108 Dinwiddie Street home, 55 discrimination against, 153 early relationship with Idabel, 36 education, 14, 33–34 education’s importance to, 54, 120–21, 130 family background, 5–9 family home, 19–20, 52 fear of going to war, 42–43 gambling on horses, 144 hobbies, 144 and Willie Jones, 142–43, 152 as a machinist, 76–77, 86, 117, 122, 130 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 205

marriage, 36, 41 military service, 44, 47 at the Navy Yard, 42, 48, 69, 76–77, 86, 117 nicknames, 34, 78 relationship with his children, 78, 134–35 retirement, 182 shopping trips, 133–35 volunteer work, 182 and the Webbs, 103 Jones, George Mason, Jr. (WJ’s brother) baseball played, 101, 115, 120 birth, 43 childhood, 43, 53–54, 67, 70–71 church involvement, 58, 88 at C&P, 180–81 at the Department of Recreation, 147–48, 159, 166 driving by, 87–88 education, 54, 60, 64, 69, 75–77, 85, 92, 102, 120–21 gas station job, 87 girlfriends, 168 military service, 146, 153–54, 159 at Northern Systems, 180 relationship with father, 48–49, 53 relationship with Michael Gerald, 53 at Stillman College, 120–23, 126, 129, 141 Jones, Henry (WJ’s great-grandfather), 6–7 206 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Jones, Idabel Greene (WJ’s mother) babysitting by, 155, 165 birth, 12–13 childhood, 19–21 church involvement, 28, 57–58, 130, 144–45, 155, 160 as a clerk in the housing department, 44, 48 Committee on Law Reform and Racial Activities, appearance before, 96 as a custodian, 165, 174 death, ix, 46 desegregation efforts, 108 Dinwiddie Street home, 55 driving by, 55–56 early relationship with George, 36 education, 14, 34–35 family background, 11–14 family home, 19 and Willie Jones, 142–43 marriage, 36, 41 relationship with nephews, 90 relationship with sister, 46 retirement, 182 as a school lunch lady, 85, 117 wartime hardships, 44 and the Webbs, 103 Jones, Ida Lewis, 7 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 207

Jones, Lydia Natalie (WJ’s sister) birth, 68–69 childhood, 92, 100 church involvement, 88 education, 92, 95, 102, 122 fashion sense, 135, 158 at Howard University, 176, 181 job at Dannemann’s, 158 marriage, 181 piano lessons, 143 television career, 180–81 Jones, Lynwood Nathan (WJ’s brother) birth, 68–69 childhood, 92, 100–102 church involvement, 88 education, 92, 95, 102, 122 gadgetry/electricity interest, 100–101 injured on the playground, 155–57 marriage, 181 musical talents, 129, 133, 142–43, 158, 171 at Virginia State College, 176, 181 Jones, Mack Arthur, 123–24 Jones, Michael Gerald (“Mike”; WJ’s brother) basketball played, 101–2 birth, 53 childhood, 53, 60, 67, 70–71, 85 208 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

church involvement, 58, 88 education, 67, 71–72, 75–76, 92, 102, 109–12, 126 football played, 126 at Fordham University, 178, 181 at Howard University, 141, 147 military service, 154, 167 relationship with father, 53, 78 relationship with George, Jr., 53 Jones, Orze (WJ’s grandfather), 6–8, 27, 33, 130 Jones, Rosalind Tawana (“Roz”; WJ’s sister) birth, 61 childhood, 67, 70–71 church involvement, 88 education, 67, 76–77, 85, 102, 121–22 at Howard University, 157, 166, 168, 176 job at Dannemann’s, 157 marriage, 181 at parties, 127–28 piano lessons, 143 relationship with father, 78 relationship with siblings, 131–32 relationship with Uncle Dede, 67, 90, 143, 157 sewing skills, 157 as a teacher, 181 Jones, Sally (WJ’s great-aunt), 7 Jones, Vivian Malone, 123–24 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 209

Jones, Willie, 142–43, 152 Jones, Wilma Helen birth, 114 in Brownies, 157 as a cashier, 158 childhood boyfriends, 141–42, 155 church involvement, 88, 145 complexion, 115 education, 141, 147, 166, 175–76, 178, 182 job at Dannemann’s, 158 marriage and divorce, 182 piano lessons, 143 relationship with sisters, 115, 132 at Virginia Commonwealth University, 182 Jordan, Louis, 60

K Kemper School, 15 Kennedy, John F., 124, 136 Kennedy, Robert F., 164 King, Earl, 56, 174 King, Elizabeth (WJ’s great-grandmother), 5–6, 56 King, Fannie. See Jones, Fannie King Evans King, Henry (WJ’s great-grandfather), 5 King, Ida (WJ’s great-aunt), 5–6, 56 King, Julia (WJ’s great-aunt), 5 210 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 160–61, 163 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 136 King, Mary (WJ’s great-aunt), 5 King, Teenee (WJ’s aunt), 156 King, Victor, 165 King, William (WJ’s great-uncle), 5 King family, 183 Korean War, 71 Ku Klux Klan, 6, 48, 95

L Lacey, Edward H. (WJ’s uncle), 42, 57 Lacey, Erroll Glovenia Greene (“Beanie”; WJ’s aunt) birth, 12–13 childhood, 13–14 dancing/partying enjoyed, 91 divorce, 57 education, 14 family home, 57 as godmother to Wilma, 114 as a seamstress, 57, 155 LaFavor, Mr., 133 land-grant colleges, 176 Langston, John M., 16, 170 Langston-Brown Community Center, 163 Langston Elementary School. See John M. Langston School Family and Neighborhood Evolution 211

Lee Highway, 18, 25–26, 38–39, 45, 170–71 Lee-Reed Elementary School, 149, 152, 166 Leftwich, Debbie, 178 Leftwich, Theodore and Alice, 86 Leftwich family, 178 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (M. L. King), 136 Levenberry, Venetia, 157 Lewis, Barbara, 146 Lewis, Ramsey, 155 Little Richard, 103 Longino, Miss, 168 Luzi’s Shell Station, 87

M magazines, black, 116–17 Mansfield, Martha, 21 March on Washington, 136 Marsh, Mr., 175 Marshall, Thurgood, 72–73, 163 Martin, Martin A., 64, 73 Mason, Phil, 20–21 Matthews, Doris, 177 May Day, 31, 174 McWilliams, Jon, 180 Memory Bricks/The Family, x Millar, Irving, 138 212 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

The Milt Grant Show, 132 Minor Teacher’s College, 34 Miss Allen’s Store, 39–40, 101, 158, 170 Monroe, John F., 89 Moody, Ben, Jr., 177 Moody, Ben, Sr., 177 Moody, Debra, 177 Moody, Wanda, 177 Moody, Willie Jean, 177 moonshine, 23–24 Moore, Douglas E., 160, 169–70, 175 Morton, Edward T., 29, 39, 85–86, 171 Moten, Vivian, 91 Mother Goose School, 54, 60, 64, 71, 92 Motown, 155 Mount Olivet Methodist Church, 137 Mount Salvation Baptist Church, vii, 130 activities, 58, 144–45 anniversaries, 30, 58–59 baptisms, 28 beach trips, 68 and the Citizens Association, 73 classes, 67–68 conventions and youth conferences, 135 founding, 28 growth, 160 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 213

rift within, 179 school integration efforts, 96 spirituals sung, 145 teas, 144–45 Vacation Bible School, 88 youth activities, 88 youth chorus choir, 177–78 murder-suicide (Halls Hill, 1965), 148

N NAACP anti-NAACP laws, 94, 96 Arlington branch, 94, 140 conservatism of, 162 in Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County, Virginia, 72 desegregation efforts, 80, 82, 94–96, 105, 109–10, 112 Legal Defense Fund, 73 National Housing Emergency, 48 Navy Yard, 42, 48, 69, 76–77, 86, 117 Neal, Patricia (“Cissy”), 178 Neighborhood Conservation Program, 138 Nelson, George T., 95, 110 Newman, Audrey, 110 Newman, Lance, 75, 109–11 newspapers, black, 116–17, 162 214 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

New Year’s Day, 103 New York Shipbuilding Company, 122 Nickerson, Robert, 17, 89 Nickerson, Thelma, 54, 71 nicknames, 77–78 Norfolk School Board, 108 North Arlington Day Care Center Corporation, 137 Northern Virginia Baptist Association, 88 Northern Virginia Committee to End Theater Discrimination, 127 Northern Virginia Congress of Racial Equality, 127 Northern Virginia CORE, 140 North Korea, 71

O O’Neal, Thomas, 75 Open Door Baptist Church, 179 Orioles, 60 Oswald, Lee Harvey, 136 outhouses, 18, 45, 76, 84 Owens-Hart, Winnie, x

P Page Elementary School, 149 Parent Teacher Association (PTA), 120 Parham, Earl, 158 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 215

Pearl Harbor, 42 Pelham, Moses, 28 Pelham, William, 4 Pelham family, 3, 39 Pelhamtown (Arlington, Va.), 3–4, 28 Peterson, Gordon, 180 Pheiffer, Mr., 133 Phillips, Sadie H., 95 Pickett, Wilson, 146 Pittsburgh Steelers, 168 Plessy v. Ferguson, 7–8 police brutality, 161, 164 police departments, integrated, 163 poll tax, 66, 72 Poor People’s Campaign, 164 Poor People’s March on Washington, 164 Porte, Rawle, 145 Porter, Natalie, 165 Powell, Alfred and Marie, 165–66 Powell, Cynthia (“Cyndi”), 165–66 Powell, Donna, 165–66 Powell, Gloria, 166 Powell, James, Jr. (“Skipper”), 166 Powell, James, Sr., 166 Powell, Robyn, 165–66 Price, Patience. See Spriggs, Patience Price 216 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Price, Rosa (“RoRo”), 21, 38, 61 prohibition, 23–24 protests civil rights, 118–19, 127, 177 war, 176–77 PTA (Parent Teacher Association), 120 Pupil Placement Board, 80–81, 94–95, 97, 102, 105–8, 110, 112

Q Queen City (Arlington, Va.), 3

R Raby, Helen, 54 race riots (1919), 8–9 race riots (1967–1968), 162–64 racism. See also discrimination; Jim Crow laws; segregation in Arlington, 26, 37–38 redlining, 48 toward black veterans, 47 Ransom, Leon A., 64 Ray Welch Texaco station, 87 R&B music, 60, 92, 103–4, 116, 158–59, 175 Redding, Otis, 167 Reed, Fred (“Butchie”), 157 Reed, Hartman, 129 Reed, Marguarite, 92, 129, 135, 159 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 217

Reeves, Frank D., 105, 110 revivals, traveling, 102, 145 Richardson, Mrs., 92 Richardson, N. R., 59, 89, 144, 155 Richmond, Claude M., 64 Robinson, Elmer, 159 Robinson, Frank, 152 Robinson, Greg, 159 Robinson, Jake, 158, 170 Robinson, Lottie, 158–59 Robinson, Louie, 158–59 Robinson, Max, 180 Robinson, Spottswood, 73 Robinson, S. W., III, 110 rock and roll, 175 Roosevelt, Theodore, 8 Ruby, Jack, 136

S Saegmuller’s Farm, 27 Scharff, Mrs., 175–76 schools, 15–16. See also specific schools bus service, 85 fight for equality, 63–66, 72 “freedom of choice” policy, 131, 148 integration (see under integration) 218 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

public money for private school tuition, 81, 94–95 racial bias, 169–70 sibling rule, 122 unfair treatment of black students, 161, 164, 177 white schools closed in defiance of court orders, 97, 111 Scipio, Yolanda, 157, 177–78 Sealock dairy farm, 46 segregation. See also Jim Crow laws army, 44 beaches, 68 buses, 35 lunch counters, 118–19 movie theaters, 127 schools, 15, 63–66, 72, 118 (see also integration, schools; Pupil Placement Board) social activities at schools, 119 sports, 119–20, 125, 148 television shows, 132 Selective Service System. See draft Shamrocks, 91 Shaw Junior High School, 34–35 Shelton, Horace, 16 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, 136 Slack, Christine, 166 slavery, 1–2 Sledge, Percy, 155 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 219

Sly and the Family Stone, 175 Smith, Fannie (WJ’s great-great-grandmother), 12 Smith, Rodney, 148 SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), 162 Snowden, Shirley, 16 Snowden, Vivian, 23 Snowden family, 39, 171, 183 social events barbecues, 56–57, 89–90, 175 parties, 23–24, 35, 60, 90–91, 116, 128, 146, 175 Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 160 Southern Manifesto, 81 South Korea, 71 Spinner, Delores (“Penny”), 92, 127–28 sporting events, high school, 159 Spriggs, Alonzo (“Uncle Alonzo”), 43, 53, 128, 179 Spriggs, Curtis, 92, 129, 133, 135, 155–56 Spriggs, Deidra, 157, 177–78 Spriggs, Ersalene, 43–44 Spriggs, Jerry, 146 Spriggs, Nathaniel, 43 Spriggs, Patience Price (“Aunt Pat”), 21, 43, 53, 128, 138, 179 Spriggs family, 39, 43–44, 183 Stanley, Thomas B., 79–80, 93 Stewart, Marvin, 184 Stewart, Nellie C., 86 220 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

Stillman College, 120–23, 126, 129, 141 Stratford Four, 109–12 Stratford Junior High School, 109–11, 120, 131 Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), 162 Suburbanite, 92 Sumner School (Halls Hill), 15–16 Super Bowl X, 168 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education, 79–80 on Davis v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County, Virginia, 72 Plessy v. Ferguson, 7–8 poll tax upheld by, 72 on school integration, 110–11 Supremes, 155 Swanson Junior High, 169 Sweeney, Mrs., 85 Syphax, Archie, 85 Syphax, Evelyn Reid, 85, 92

T Tara (Arlington, Va.), 45, 51–52 Taylor, Mr., 40 Taylor Elementary School, 149 Teenarama, 132 Temptations, 146 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 221

Terry, Kathleen, 148 Thanksgiving, 30, 184 Thomas, B. V., 15–16 Thompson, Clarissa S., 95, 113 Thompson, Gloria, 109–11 Thompson, Stephen, 75, 113 Thompson v. County of Arlington School Board, 104 Trammell, Timmy, 157 Trussel, 181 Tucker, Otto L., 105, 110 Turkey Bowl, 184 Tyre, Howard, 75

U University of Alabama, 124 U.S. Army as segregated, 44 U.S. Department of Education, 140 U.S. Naval Propeller Plant, 130

V Vaughan, Gwendolyn (“Gwennie”), 92, 129, 135, 159 veterans, 9, 47–48, 76–77 Vienna Trust Company, 130 Vietnam War, 161, 176–77 Virginia desegregation opposed by, 93–94 222 MY HALLS HILL FAMILY

racism in, 7–8, 24, 51 (see also discrimination; Jim Crow laws; segregation) Virginia Commonwealth University, 182 Virginia State Police, 163 Virginia White Sox, 29 Vollin, William, 142

W Wall, Glen B., 47 Wallace, George, 164 Warren, Earl, 111 Warrington, Bill, 142 Warrington, Shari, 142 Warrington, Una, 142, 154 Warrington, William, Jr. (“Bea”), 141–42 Warrington, William, Sr., 144 Washington, D.C., 48, 162 Washington, Dinah, 60 Washington Golf and Country Club, 25 Washington-Lee High School, 63–65, 112–13, 148, 168, 169, 177 Webb, Ernie and Helen, 102–3 Whaley, Caroline, 73, 88 Williams, Adele, 69, 92, 128 Williams, Delores, 75 Williams, Gene, 158 Family and Neighborhood Evolution 223

Williams, James, 69, 128 Williams, Mervin, 85–86, 128, 135, 145, 154, 165 Williams, Muriel Morton, 85–86, 128, 145, 154 Williams, Sydney, 145 Williams, Warren, 69 Wilson, Jackie, 103, 116 Wilson, Woodrow, 9 Wilson Lodge #196, 89 Witherspoon, Jimmy, 60 Wonder, Stevie, 155 Woodlawn (Arlington, Va.), 45, 51–52, 151 Woodlawn Elementary School, 149, 151 World War I, 8 World War II, 41–42, 44–47 worship and celebrations, 27–31. See also specific churches WTOP-TV, 180–81

Y Yorktown Senior High, 169