Dr. Alfred O. Taylor, Jr., a local leader who chronicled the history of his beloved Green Valley community and served as a fatherly mentor to many in civic life, died last week at age 91.
“So much of the strength, pride and community spirit of Green Valley today is built on the foundation he helped lay through a lifetime of dedicated service and steady leadership,” the Green Valley Civic Association said in a statement upon his death.
“He was a critical chronicler of the history of Arlington’s African-American community, and we are grateful he sought to share it with all of us,” the Arlington Historical Society added.
An Arlington native, Dr. Taylor spent his formative years between Virginia, where racial segregation was mandated by law, and D.C., where integration was the norm.
In later years, he sought to pass down lessons from the past to new generations.
In an interview with Arlington Educational Television as part of its “Living Legends” series, Dr. Taylor said he took his inspiration from the Sankofa bird, a mythical creature of the Akan people of Ghana that is able to look back while moving forward.
“If we have no reference point to know where we have come from, then we don’t know if we are moving forward or whether we are standing still,” he said then.
Perhaps his most seminal work was “Bridge Builders of Nauck/Green Valley,” a history of his local community chronicling the lives of those who made a difference there.
In a 2015 Arlington Public Library program promoting the book, Dr. Taylor said everyone could, and should, be a storyteller.
“If you don’t pass down stories, you lose your culture,” he said.
“Everyone has a story; I challenge everyone to write their autobiography,” he said. “Someone has to pave the way for others who come after them. We have so many youth who do not know what their forefathers went through.”
The inspiration for the book came from interactions with youth, Dr. Taylor said:
“Every year at Black History Month, it seemed the students were writing about the same national characters, year after year after year. It occurred to me there were many stories to be told of the residents of Nauck.”
The death of Dr. Taylor was the second major loss involving community figures with roots in Green Valley in recent months. Former County Board member and retired Circuit Court Judge William P. Newman Jr. died in February.
Judge Newman had grown up in the Green Valley community, then known as Nauck, when it was an enclave of Black residents during Virginia’s segregation era.
For his work in the community, Dr. Taylor in 2015 was awarded the Charles P. Monroe Civil Rights Award, the highest honor of the Arlington NAACP. He had led the civil rights organization in the 1990s.
“It’s an incredible gift I will always treasure, the most meaningful award I’ve received or ever expect to receive,” Dr. Taylor said at the ceremony where he was presented with the award, named in honor of a late County Board member.
Known for his sense of humor, Dr. Taylor concluded his remarks at the NAACP’s Freedom Fund banquet with a line attributed to comedian Jack Benny: “I don’t deserve this, but I have arthritis, and I don’t deserve that, either.”
In 2019, Dr. Taylor received the William P. Newman Jr. Spirit of Community Award from the Arlington Community Foundation.
“I was there when he was honored with the Spirit of Community Award by the Arlington Community Foundation for his longstanding leadership, historical advocacy and mentorship,” said Dr. Scott Taylor, who heads the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington.
Scott Taylor praised Alfred Taylor as “a prominent educator, community historian and civic leader.”
Dr. Taylor served several terms as president of the Green Valley Civic Association, but that was just the tip of the iceberg in his involvement, the association said:
“To him, a title was never the point. Whether leading the board or rolling up his sleeves as a volunteer, he tirelessly advocated for Green Valley in every role imaginable — he carried a deep respect for our neighborhood’s rich history, worked fiercely for its present, and always kept his eyes on a brighter future for the generations to come.
“So much of the strength, pride and community spirit of Green Valley today is built on the foundation he helped lay through a lifetime of dedicated service and steady leadership.”
Dr. Taylor was also active in Macedonia Baptist Church, where he chaired the deacon’s ministry.
Among the tributes paid to Dr. Taylor as news of his death spread in the community:
Shirlington Civic Association: “He was president of Green Valley Civic Association when we were formed and welcomed us warmly. We will always remember that. May his memory be a blessing.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-8): “Very sad to hear that civil-rights leader and Arlington icon Dr. Alfred Taylor has passed. He was a tireless advocate for Green Valley and was a beacon of hope in our community, and we will miss him.”
Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3): “My family and I will miss him a great deal, as will all of the countless individuals and families he’s touched in Green Valley and South Arlington over his decades of civic activism.”
Carole Lieber: “We have truly lost part of our heart in Arlington.”
Carmela Hamm: “I will deeply miss my dear friend, and truly appreciate the significant and profound impact that he had on my life.”
County Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr.: “Dr. Taylor was a true community leader, an independent thinker, not a politico, and someone who always kept it real. His wisdom, honesty and commitment to Arlington made a lasting impact on so many of us.”
Tanya Shawann: “Deacon Taylor’s blueprint is legendary — a trailblazer, activist, historian, pioneer to a community he loved and loved him more.”
Betsy Frantz: “What a true servant-leader. He was an inspiration to all of us. His warm, soft voice always spoke such wisdom. He will be sorely missed by our community.”
Devanshi Patel: “He was softer spoken in recent years, but his actions will loudly echo through the generations of lives he touched. Education was his passion. He loved seeing kids learn.”
Former Sheriff Beth Arthur: “He was a true gentleman with a heart of gold. I am grateful to have called him a friend.”
Lloyd Wolf: “A gentle wise giant, both a true gentleman and a scholar. May Dr. Taylor’s good work and memory forever be a blessing.”
Dr. Taylor was born in Green Valley on July 28, 1934. According to an oral history with Stay Arlington, “I was one of the first patients of Dr. Roland Bruner, who was a physician in the Green Valley neighborhood for over 40 years.”
His third great-grandmother, Melinda Hawkins, and second great-grandmother, Martha Hawkins, had been enslaved in Georgetown until being freed in mid-1862.
Dr. Taylor and his wife co-owned two printing establishments for a time, and he was later instrumental in developing the printing program for the University of the District of Columbia, where he spent 30 years as an educator and administrator.
Dr. Taylor was predeceased by his wife Delores, a retired educator in the D.C. Public Schools, who died in 2019 after 67 years of marriage.
It was in the home of Mrs. Taylor’s grandparents that, in 1908, Macedonia Baptist Church was founded.
Dr. Taylor was also predeceased by a son, Kenneth Taylor, who was active in the regional gospel music scene to such an extent that he was known as “Mr. Gospel.”
A full obituary notice and information on memorial services were pending at publication time.
