Autumn is a colorful time of year that can be celebrated in many ways like attending fall festivals. Fall festivals and heritage festivals are a great way to welcome the season and celebrate food, music, and tradition. These events typically take place from the end of September to the middle of November or just enjoy spending time outdoors in the fall, such as going for a walk or hiking. Arlington has lots of sights to see and lots of history, including Black History. February may be Black History month but the history should be celebrated all year.
Black History invites us to open our reality to something we may not have lived or relate to, and learn a fuller history of our country. It brings forth a different perspective and asks to be acknowledged as just as American as what is already in place, to be part of “American” History. The on-going attempts by History Colorado to truly embrace an inclusive history is reported in the Denver Post, by reporter Ray Rinaldi, January 30, 2023. The article exemplifies leadership in inclusion when telling U.S. History.
I encourage all of you to think about and engage in conversation, regarding Black History . Can you articulate your beliefs? Can you have a conversation with somebody who doesn’t have the same views? Being inclusive means suspending your beliefs in an effort to allow for other beliefs to be heard, and allowing room for a diversity of perspectives.
If you are interested in engaging in conversation, or would like to work against racism, please feel free to contact Arlington’s Challenging Racism program www.challengingRacism.org. Their vision To empower and inspire people to disrupt racism one compassionate conversation at a time.
Happy fall!
Dr. Scott Edwin Taylor, PhD
(President)
A Place for Homegoing During Segregation
A Place for Homegoing During Segregation Chinn-Baker Funeral Service started out serving Arlington’s Black community when others would not. It’s still in business today. By: Kim O’Connell February 26, 2024 On a recent afternoon, Shawn Baker could be heard trudging up the basement stairs of his family business, slowly and deliberately. When he finally appeared, the reason was evident: In one arm he carried two heavy, leather-bound books of funeral records from the 1940s; in the other, two hardcover telephone books from the 1960s. Baker’s company—Chinn-Baker Funeral Service—has served the Black community in Green Valley since 1942. Known for decades as simply Chinn Funeral Service (that’s what the sign now says out front), it occupies the same brick building it always has on Shirlington Road. James Chinn founded the business 82 years ago to provide dignified mortuary services for Black families at a time when such services were harder to come by. “There weren’t many funeral homes that catered to the Black community at that time,” Baker says. “We needed basic decency. There wasn’t the care for our loved ones.” – Advertisement – Flipping open one of the record books, he notes the logs that were once painstakingly recorded by hand—birth and death dates, cause of death and veteran status. These solemn tomes, which fill the shelves of the upstairs office and the basement, are a treasure trove of Arlington lives. In the 1960s, Chinn hired Baker’s uncle Robert as an assistant. Robert took over the business in 1969, and Baker’s father, Rupert, soon joined him. The two elder Bakers operated the home until their deaths in 2018 and 2013, respectively, when Shawn became managing director. Having grown up in the family business, Shawn Baker cemented his skills by attending mortuary school and earning an MBA. His cousin, Cha’Vonne Baker, is now the operations manager. Other family members help out with the dozens of funeral services conducted here each year. In one of the phone books, Baker proudly points out a 1960s advertisement for Chinn’s that includes his uncle’s name. He has mixed feelings about the recent redevelopment around Shirlington. Several Black-owned businesses have gone by the wayside, including the landmark Green Valley Pharmacy, which Leonard “Doc” Muse ran from 1952 until his death in 2017. – Advertisement – “We handled the services for Doc,” Baker says. “His funeral was in the town square. We also handled the services for [civic activist] John Robinson, the man for whom the town square is named.” He’s glad Chinn-Baker is still there, helping local families. “When people call us it’s probably the worst day of their lives,” Baker says. “Just being able to be there for them is satisfying. It’s part of the calling, our way to serve people.” *This article is available at:https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/chinn-baker-funeral-service-green-valley-arlington-va/
Jennie Dean Park
Green Valley, is one of the oldest African American communities in Arlington County. Its history traces to 1844, when freedman Levi Jones purchased land to build a home and farm here. The neighborhood grew after the Civil War when recently emancipated African Americans settled in the area.
By the 1930s, residents played sports at Green Valley Ball Park, a property then owned by James B. and Lettie L. Peyton. In 1944, Arlington County purchased this property, which became one of the first parks developed by the Arlington County Department of Recreation. This park’s name honors Jennie Dean, a freed slave who became a noted advocate and fundraiser for education. In 1894, Dean established the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth to meet the need for vocational and liberal arts education in this area.
