Herndon is planning a historical marker that will delve into the town’s history of segregation, particularly in connection to the Herndon Fortnightly Library (768 Center Street).
Town staff discussed the proposal with the Herndon Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (HDEIC) at a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 15.
According to Herndon Community Development Director Lisa Gilleran, the library’s origins are already featured on a historical marker that was installed several years ago. It started as a private research library for the Fortnightly Club, a women’s study group that met every two weeks, before making books available for lending to the public in 1900.
However, members of the Herndon Friends Meeting, a Quaker organization based in the Fortnightly Club’s former building at 660 Spring Street, asked that the marker include more information about the library’s segregated past.
“The Friends reached out to the town and requested that the existing marker be changed to reflect the fact that the Fortnightly Club library excluded African Americans and was for whites only,” Gilleran said.
The town staff agreed but suggested the information include not only the segregated past of the library, but the history of segregation in Herndon.
“To accommodate the additional information, it was decided that the original marker would stay but a second marker would be added,” Gilleran said.
The new marker will be located next to the existing one outside the original Fortnightly library on Spring Street. Town staff have been speaking to members of the community who experienced segregation to develop the language.
Councilmember Pradip Dhakal, who chairs the HDEIC, told FFXnow that the proposed marker aims to acknowledge the history of segregation that was prevalent in Herndon well into the 1970s.
“The town, in coordination with the Herndon Friend’s Meeting, has been conducting research on this topic to ensure the marker appropriately reflects the history,” Dhakal said. “This research included first-hand interviews with individuals who experienced segregation in the town, particularly at the Fortnightly Library.”
At its meeting last week, the HDEIC also reviewed the draft language and made minor edits.
The town is now looking for members of Herndon’s African American community who experienced segregation to review the language “to ensure that the draft is reflective of the experience,” Gilleran said, adding that they hope to wrap up the project soon.
