African Americans of Alexandria Virginia Beacons of Light in the Twentieth Century
A History of Struggle Overcome
Sitting just south of the nation’s capital, Alexandria has a long and storied history. Still, there is limited knowledge about Alexandria's twentieth-century African American community. Experience the harrowing narratives of trials and triumph as Alexandria’s African Americans helped shape their hometown and the world around them. Rutherford Adkins became one of the first black fighter pilots as a Tuskegee Airman. Samuel Tucker, a twenty-six-year-old lawyer, organized and fought for Alexandria to share its wealth of knowledge with the African American community by opening its libraries to all colors and creeds. Three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and four years before the Brown v. Board of Education decision integrated American schools, Alexandria native Earl Lloyd made history in basketball. He was among the first African Americans to break the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) color barrier in 1950. Through this record, we will forever remember Alexandria's beacon of hope and light, a vibrant past that was discovered. Then, Leo A. Brooks, Sr., was the only Parker-Gray High School graduate to reach the rank of general. He and his two sons have accomplished a national milestone: they are the only African American family in our nation to have a father, and two sons become generals in any military service.