Juneteenth Events In Arlington Explore Refuge From White Supremacy

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington Public Library is hosting two in-person author events, one at the Shirlington branch and the other at Central Library, in commemoration of Juneteenth.

One of the books is a novel that explores people who escaped slavery and took refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia. The other book looks at how Black residents of Arlington built a self-sufficient community in the middle of a county ruled by white supremacists.

Both events are supported by funding from the Friends of the Arlington Public Library. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States and the date of June 19, when many slaves in Texas finally found out they were free.

Author Amina Luqman-Dawson, who lives in Arlington, will appear at Shirlington Library at 6:30 p.m. on June 22 for a conversation about her historical novel “Freewater,” a new book about siblings escaping from slavery and taking refuge in the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Luqman-Dawson will be speaking with Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh.

Research over the past two decades has shown in more detail how the Great Dismal Swamp was a place where both African Americans and Native Americans found refuge from the white settlers.

The event at Shirlington Library will include a free book raffle. Cookies will be served. Also, attendees can get 20 percent off their total bill at Stellina Pizzeria in Shirlington before or after the event if they mention the book talk.

Wilma Jones will be talking at 6 p.m. on June 23 at Central Library about her book, "My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood," published in 2018.

Halls Hill is a historically Black neighborhood that gained its identity after the Civil War, when formerly enslaved people began buying property in the area. The community became self-sufficient, with restaurants, businesses, and services that the Black residents could not get in other parts of Arlington.

The white establishment in Arlington built a “segregation wall” in the 1930s made out of wood, brick and cement to keep the Black residents out of a new subdivision called Woodlawn.

Jones’ book, which covers the period from 1865 to the 1960s, is told from her family’s perspective. She grew up on North Dinwiddie Street in the heart of Halls Hill.

“After the Civil War, Halls Hill was a completely segregated community. People were forced to endure Jim Crow laws, racism and oppression,” Jones says on her website. “But once you entered the boundaries of Halls Hill things were different. There was something special about the Halls Hill community.”

In June 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill designating Juneteenth as a federal holiday. This year, the Juneteenth public holiday, recognized by both Virginia and Arlington County, falls on Monday, June 20.

RELATED: Juneteenth 2021: How Arlington Marks The End Of Slavery