Virginia HJ 410: Commending McArthur Myers.

Bill Text

2022SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSEJOINTRESOLUTIONNO.410
Commending McArthur Myers.
AgreedtobytheHouseofDelegates,March8,2022
AgreedtobytheSenate,March9,2022
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers, an esteemed advocate for historic preservation and the
commemoration of African American contributions to the history of Alexandria, was inducted into the
Living Legends of Alexandria Class of 2020 and will be honored with the award at an event in 2022;
and
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers was among the first African American students to attend the former
Prince Street Elementary School in Alexandria and helped to integrate the Alexandria Boys Club and a
local Boy Scouts of America troop; and
WHEREAS, after graduating from the former T.C. Williams High School and earning a degree in
administration of justice from American University, McArthur Myers devoted more than 40 years to the
District of Columbia Department of Mental Health; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, McArthur Myers joined Universal Lodge No. 1, the Most Worshipful Prince
Hall Grand Lodge of Virginia of the Free and Accepted Masons and the oldest Prince Hall lodge in the
Commonwealth, and successfully petitioned the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to officially
recognize the group with a historical marker in 2018; and
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers, who currently serves as the grand historian for Universal Lodge No.
1, became the first African American member of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Association in 2016 and two years later arranged the first Prince Hall meeting to be held at the
memorial in its history; and
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers has advocated tirelessly for historical markers to commemorate
buildings that have been central to the African American community in Alexandria and to the history of
the city, including Roberts Memorial United Methodist Church, Beulah Baptist Church, Third Baptist
Church, and the Universal Lodge No. 1; and
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers' historic preservation work has included involvement in the initiative to
integrate the Freedom House Museum into the City of Alexandria's museum system and to develop
Alexandria's African American Heritage Trail project; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of his dedication to the preservation and interpretation of Alexandria's
African American heritage, McArthur Myers received the Alexandria Archaeological Commission's Ben
Brenman Award for Archeology in 2019; and
WHEREAS, McArthur Myers has pursued his mission as a board member of the Alexandria Black
History Museum and as a member of the Alexandria Society for the Preservation of Black Heritage, the
Historic Alexandria Resources Commission, and the Equal Justice Initiative's Community Remembrance
Project; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby
commend McArthur Myers for being named a 2020 Living Legend of Alexandria; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution
for presentation to McArthur Myers as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his
contributions to the Commonwealth.
ENROLLED
HJ410ER