In 2019, Arlington County began a multi-year planning process for Langston Boulevard (formerly Lee Highway) to create a comprehensive plan for the corridor that provides guidance on how to direct future growth and investment toward community goals. As part of the planning process two comprehensive reports were created to document cultural and historical assets of the corridor and capture the character of the five neighborhood areas of the study. These documents served as inspiration for the Langston Boulevard Zine and artist Liz Nugent’s engaging illustrations,
In 2020, the Langston Boulevard Alliance started a public process for renaming Lee Highway in order to realize the years-long grassroots community effort to create a welcoming Main Street by removing the word “Highway” and to begin to reconcile the painful racial history many in our community experienced by removing the name “Lee”. The Zine celebrates the new name for the corridor after John Mercer Langston, beloved civil rights activist and the first Black Congressman from the State of Virginia, by illustrating his history and connections to Arlington and the Langston Boulevard community.
To learn more about elements illustrated in the Langston Boulevard Zine, please see the list of resources referenced below.