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February 5, 2025
Neighbors,
While we all know the iconic moments in the Civil Rights struggle — like Rosa Parks refusing to get up from her seat — there are also other lesser-known stories about people who courageously sat for equality and dignity.
Today, I helped to commemorate such a moment that occurred here in Fairfax County as we celebrated both Transit Equity Day and Black History Month. NOVA Parks, the Virginia NAACP and Fairfax County NAACP unveiled a new interpretive sign about four Howard University students who challenged segregation 11 years before Rosa Parks’ pivotal act.
At this ceremony, I also joined Jasmine Carr, niece of Rosa Parks and Fairfax NAACP Branch Membership Chair, along with faith leaders Dr. Arnett Waters and Dr. Vernon Walton and colleagues from the Board of Supervisors.
On May 14, 1944, the students boarded a bus in Virginia to return to their Washington, D.C. university after a picnic at their professor Caroline Ware’s home near Vienna. In defiance of Jim Crow laws, Angela Jones, Erma McLemore, Marianne Musgrave and Ruth Powell sat in seats at the front of the bus. They refused to move, and they were arrested.
Afterwards, Ware, a constitutional history and social science professor at Howard, arranged for their legal counsel with the NAACP and raised their bail, offering her property as surety. Fondly called “The Farm” by Ware and her husband, the couple donated their property to NOVA Parks in 1980, and it is now Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.
In court, the students’ attorney argued that federal interstate law applied because the bus traveled from Virginia into D.C. There was no federal law to require Black citizens to sit in the rear of a bus. However, this argument was not successful, and their attorney filed an appeal.
Before the appeal occurred, however, the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney dropped all charges against the four women. He likely feared an appeal would overturn the state’s Jim Crow laws.
This newly discovered local history is a great example of how Black History Month can expand our knowledge and understanding of our community. It adds context and provides color – truly – to a landmark regional park visited by thousands of us residents every year. I encourage you to visit this new sign at Meadowlark Gardens to learn more about this inspiring story.
Regards,
Walter
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