Sixty-one years ago this month, several Howard University students and allies walked into the People's Drug Store on Lee Highway in Arlington. For the next two weeks, they participated in sit-ins to protest white-only lunch counters across the county.
Now a special exhibit and letter-pressed cards mark the moment in Arlington's civil rights history.
"The idea is for you to go and collect them, look at the map and really think about what Arlington was then and what we are now, and just sort of contemplate that history and how we can move forward from here," said Cynthia Connolly, special projects curator for Arlington County.
Photos: Postcard Exhibit Highlights Civil Rights Sit-Ins in Arlington
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Joan Mulholland participated in the Arlington sit-ins.
"I could see from the time I was 10 that things were not equal and fair and all in the South," Mulholland said. "And I had to sort of resolve that when I had the chance to help make the South the best it could be for everybody, I would seize the moment that came with the sit-in."
Visitors can view the photographs at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington through June 23. The cards can be picked up at the seven locations where the sit-ins took place. Click here to view the locations.
