Arlington’s Green Valley community has a long and, in many ways, distinguished past.
Coming into being before the Civil War, it served as a home to freed Black residents and carried on as a refuge for the African-American community in a county and commonwealth that, until the 1960s, adhered to a rigid system of segregation in housing and other facets of daily life.
But Green Valley — which for much of its history also was known as Nauck — has faced decades of challenges.
Unequal economic opportunities led to crime and drug challenges. At times, county leaders told Green Valley residents that their neighborhood faced challenges no greater than those in the rest of Arlington. Other times, resources were provided but efforts eventually flagged.
Yordanos Woldai is one resident who, while too young to have lived through many of those past events, is acutely aware of them. She currently serves as the first vice president and public safety chair of the Green Valley Civic Association, but spoke to ARLnow in a personal capacity.
“As someone actively engaged in today’s efforts to improve public safety in Green Valley, what strikes me most about these historical accounts is how the core issues remain virtually unchanged,” Woldai said.
“Nearly 50 years ago, residents and activists like John Robinson, Jr., were asking for basic public-safety resources, increased police patrols, community-based safety initiatives and sustained investment,” she continued. “These are the same needs we’re advocating for today.”
Woldai added:
“This historical pattern reveals both the enduring commitment of Green Valley residents to their community’s safety and a troubling cycle of initiatives that begin with great promise but fail to deliver lasting change. Residents have consistently raised the same fundamental question that persists today: Why should Green Valley residents accept a lower standard of public safety than other Arlington neighborhoods?”
Much of the coverage of past events can be uncovered at the Charlie Clark Center for Local History at Arlington Central Library. Additional coverage can be found online from the Library of Virginia’s “Virginia Chronicle” newspaper archives.
Though what follows is not a complete rendering of the past, it is a good sample of issues that occurred over time.
1968: Trying to address problems
In 1968, county leaders issued the Nauck Neighborhood Conservation Plan, designed to identify and correct matters holding back the community’s economic vitality. This was the first in a series of plans that the county government issued for the neighborhood.
There were many issues to address, the 1968 report noted, including a lack of public-transportation options, lack of infrastructure, overcrowding and the need for home repairs that people were financially unable to perform.
1969: Independence Day takes a tragic turn
An event occurring on July 4, 1969, highlighted challenges facing Green Valley, as well as the often contentious relations between the community and county government.
That day, police responded to reports of drag racing in the community. It was not an unusual occurrence, but the police response seemed to be heavier than usual. A total of 22 arrests were made.
On the way to the police station, one of those arrested fell out of the police “paddy wagon.” He ultimately died of his injuries.
In response to the incidents, the Green Valley Community and Police Committee demanded changes. Leaders criticized police for using vile language that added fuel to the fire, and said County Board members overreacted by imposing a curfew.
Mattie Whitson, who chaired the committee, said the community needed more senior police officers interacting in the neighborhood, “not rookies,” and encouraged efforts like having youth ride along with police to build relationships.
1970: ‘Kill the pusher man’
Robinson, who by the early 1970s had become a key civic leader in the community, told a Northern Virginia Sun reporter in November 1970 that there were not enough resources available to help people addicted to drugs and stem drug dealing and crime in the community.
Taking matters into their own hands, members of the Arlington Community Action Program began leading marches and promoting an anti-drug message with a “Kill the Pusher-Man” signage.
Earlier that year, the Sun had profiled a youth-counseling program aimed at providing options and hope for youth in Green Valley. A coalition of churches sponsored the initiative.
Among those leading the effort was 18-year-old Ronald Williams, who earned $2 an hour as a “roving counselor” providing guidance and support to teens. Though still a college student, Williams was already serving as a minister at Macedonia Baptist Church, a pillar of the Green Valley community.
1974: Heroin becomes a major problem
An October 1974 article in the Washington Star-News reported that Green Valley had become “a mecca for heroin pushers.”
Police had arrested 14 people in a single week, and even the mother of one of those arrested was appreciative of the effort.
“This thing has got to be cleaned up,” she told a reporter.
The article also quoted Joan Cooper, who worked as a police aide by day and in Dr. Leonard “Doc” Museum’s Green Valley Pharmacy by night while also holding leadership roles in the Nauck Civic Association. Cooper lamented some of the people being drawn to her community.
“There’s obviously something bringing them here, and it isn’t jobs — there aren’t any jobs in Green Valley,” she said.
In the same article, Muse noted the business impact of those who came looking for trouble.
“You say something to them and they get insulted and want to fight,” he told a reporter. “Or they’ll say something to a customer and want to rough them up.”
1975: Police, county leaders discount problems
In a 1975 news article, leaders of the Arlington County Police Department asserted that Green Valley had a crime rate comparable to other parts of the county and a similar level of police patrols.
Some disputed this. A reporter noted that one Green Valley resident had written “No white man in the Valley,” referring to a lack of presence from what was still a largely all-white police department.
That same year, the county’s Criminal Justice Advisory Commission called for hiring a staff person to look more deeply into the neighborhood’s challenges.
Among residents, “the feeling of security and protection is quite poor,” said Allen Kitchens, who chaired the commission.
County Manager Bert Johnson was against the proposal, echoing police statements about the level of crime and measures being taken to address it.
Ultimately, the County Board would reject the plan for a new staff position, though it did announce plans to empanel a new group to define problems and create a blueprint to respond to them.
Also in 1975, the Washington Star reported on a meeting between Joseph Fisher, the newly elected congressman for the 10th District (in which Arlington then was located), and residents of Green Valley.
Fisher, a Democrat who had served on the County Board before defeating longtime Republican incumbent Joel Broyhill the previous November, urged residents to keep in close contact with his staff.
Casework is “terribly important,” he said.
1982: ‘Nobody cares’
In the Jan. 21, 1982 edition of the Arlington News, a business-development expert working for Arlington’s Department of Economic Development lamented the lack of interest in addressing issues related to the community.
“The problems of Green Valley can be very easily solved. But it’s going to take a lot of effort,” the expert said.
In the same article, Robinson lamented the impact of national economic problems on his community, where the per capita income was a mere $7,481.
“Right now, things aren’t looking up for anybody,” he said. “Nobody’s hiring.”
Among those feeling trapped was longtime resident Theodore Canady.
“If I had the money, I’d leave,” he said.
Crime had receded in recent years, but “you can’t walk the streets like you used to,” Canady said.
As for the drug situation, Robinson said: “It’s not as bad as it was 10 years ago, but it’s still here.”
Dianne Carroll, a substitute teacher at Drew Elementary School, said things were OK in the community during the daytime, but at night, “the whole neighborhood changes.”
1985: Some signs of progress
There were hopeful signs in Green Valley in the mid-1980s. In a Washington Post article in April 1985, Nauck Civic Association president Jennie Davis said some things were looking up.
Renovations in the community have “taken the blight off the community,” she said.
Others said the neighborhood retained some of its old-fashioned values.
“People know you and watch out for your kids,” said resident Cecilia Braveboy, also a leader at the nearby Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church.
Another resident, Lutrelle Parker, said that among adults who had lived in the community for years, “there’s that camaraderie that has been — that still means a great deal.”
Parker lamented the lack of jobs and other challenges, which she said frequently would cause young people to move away rather than make Green Valley their home.
1992: Challenges intensify
The cocaine and crack epidemic of the 1980s had helped turn Green Valley’s Shirlington Road into “Arlington’s most active open-air drug market,” The Washington Post reported in March 1992.
The article reported on shootings and bands of youth who congregated nightly, and suggested residents had given up trying to reclaim the streets.
“I was scared,” said one local resident who previously had supported anti-drug campaigns in the community. “I felt like a sitting duck, waiting for something to happen.”
County police said they were making efforts to address the situation, having more than doubled coverage of the community over the preceding year. But that may not have been enough, some within the force acknowledged.
“We’re afraid we’re going to lose that community,” said Daniel Boring, Arlington’s assistant chief of police.
1992: Presidential recognition
President George H.W. Bush in July 1992 attended an anti-drug rally at Drew Model School, located in Green Valley and named for noted physician and one-time resident Dr. Charles Drew.
The president was accompanied by then-U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10), in whose district Arlington was then located, and was welcomed by the Rev. Richard Green, associate pastor of Mount Salvation Baptist Church, and Green Valley civic leader Joan Cooper.
Bush told the crowd he was on hand to get “the heartbeat” of the community.
“I’ve read about it, I’ve seen stories from time to time, but there’s nothing like being on the scene to get a real feel,” he said.
“We have got to find various ways with which to win the battle against drugs, and this community is setting an example really for the rest of the nation,” the president continued. “So what I wanted to do here today was simply turn it over to you all and hear what you’ve done.”
For her efforts in the community, Cooper in 1993 would be honored as the first recipient of the Arlington Community Foundation’s Spirit of Community Award.
The Spirit of Community Award, still presented annually, today also includes the name of William Newman Jr., an Arlington native who grew up during the segregation era and later became an attorney, County Board member and chief judge of the Arlington Circuit Court.
Newman founded the Community Foundation in the early 1990s, and in the 1980s-90s had been among those leading efforts to rid Green Valley of crime and drugs.
1993: ‘Turn in the pusher now’
The May 1993 Green Valley Newsletter, published by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, noted the debut of a tip line for community members to report suspected drug dealers.
“Turn in the pusher now,” the article asked. “The pusher is a murderer and must be taken off the street right away, before he/she gets your loved ones.”
1995: Civic respect begins to blossom
On Sept. 16, 1995, the Green Valley community worked with the county to host the first “Nauck Civic and Community Pride Day.”
It was something new, but also not — the community long had been home to festivals informally celebrating the community and its people. But it did set the stage for future events, including the annual Green Valley Day celebration, held annually each fall.
2004: Losing a community resource?
In 2004 news coverage, Robinson voiced concern that the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center he ran was about to be shut down.
“Some people don’t want me here. They feel I shouldn’t be helping any of the addicts or poor people,” he said.
The remarks came as Green Valley began to see gentrification, with some longtime residents selling out to developers, who began to build larger new homes that attracted those able to pay for them.
2007: Lack of respect for the law
An Arlington Connection article in celebration of Black History Month in 2007 raised concerns about a new generation of young people that didn’t have respect for authority.
In earlier times, “you just didn’t run afoul of the police,” said Alfred Taylor, a Green Valley native and retired professor at the University of the District of Columbia.
2025: Reason for hope?
Today, Green Valley is a community that retains some of its mid-20th-century housing, but gentrification has swept away other vestiges of the past.
Concerns remain much the same as in decades gone by: limited economic opportunities, drug use, crime, Woldai said.
“What’s particularly significant is that these historical accounts capture both the community’s persistent advocacy and the institutional responses that often fell short of meaningful action,” she said. “The cycle of studies, task forces, and rebuffed initiatives created a pattern of raised expectations followed by disappointment — a dynamic that has unfortunately continued across decades.”
Is there reason for optimism? Woldai believes so.
“I remain hopeful that current county leadership recognizes the significance of this historical moment,” she said. “After nearly 50 years of residents making the same fundamental requests for equitable public-safety resources, we have an opportunity to finally break this cycle.”
“These aren’t new demands; they are longstanding expectations that reflect basic principles of equity and community investment,” Woldai continued. “Green Valley deserves to be just as safe, just as respected, just as invested in as any other part of Arlington.”
A few postscripts
More information on those who played a role in Green Valley’s battles for self-determination and dignity is below.
John Robinson Jr. (1934-2010) remained a titan of the Green Valley community until his death at age 75. The county government named the town square in Green Valley in his honor.
Joan Cooper (1940-2014), whose activism began in the 1960s with the Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the Suburbs (ACCESS), remained a local civic leader until her death.
Jennie Davis, who was a vital force in Green Valley civic life, died in 2009 at age 84. Upon her death, Davis was hailed for her efforts not only within Green Valley, but also countywide for her support of affordable housing.
Dr. Leonard “Doc” Muse, who operated the Green Valley Pharmacy for decades, died in 2017 at the age of 94. Five years before, the county government had installed a marker outside the pharmacy, noting its importance.
Ronald Williams, who as a college student was a mentor to youth in Green Valley, later served in the U.S. Navy and had spent his life in the ministry, died in December 2020 at age 69.
Dr. Alfred Taylor remains a chronicler of Green Valley, having written several books and serving as a repository of institutional knowledge.
William Newman Jr. retired from the judiciary in 2023, but continues to be a visible presence, particularly in connection with the Arlington Community Foundation that he founded three decades ago.
George H.W. Bush‘s 1992 visit to Green Valley came in the last year of his presidency, as he lost that November to Bill Clinton. He died in 2018 at age 94.
Rep. Joseph Fisher (D-10) won his seat in Congress in 1974 during the Watergate election that swept in a new crop of Democrats. Fisher (1914-92) was defeated in 1980 by Republican Frank Wolf, who served until retiring in 2014. During Wolf’s tenure, Arlington moved from the 10th District to the 8th.
Bert Johnson served as county manager from 1962-72. Upon his death in 1992, a Washington Post obituary praised his forthright reports to elected officials, delivered “without regard to political fear or favor.”
Daniel Boring worked in the Arlington County Police Department for 25 years. After retirement, he became police chief in Vienna and, later, Culpepper. He served as interim town manager and went on to become a Town Council member in the latter community.
The Nauck Civic Association was renamed the Green Valley Civic Association in 2019. Community leaders had voiced concern about the namesake, John Nauck, serving in the Confederate Army.
