An Unlikely Encounter in Shirlington, Virginia
By Jerald Council, CouncilMag.com
On Oct. 8, 2022, my wife and three sons were eating brunch at a Busboys and Poets restaurant in Shirlington, Virginia. As we chatted and caught up on life’s latest challenges, we were surprised when a small, 5-foot white woman approached our table wearing a Delta Sigma Theta jacket. The Deltas, founded in 1913 at Howard University, is a historically African American sorority. So, you can see how we were taken aback.
Busboys and Poets is a restaurant, bar, bookstore and community gathering place in Shirlington, Va.
I sat at the end of the table, next to my wife, wearing a gold-colored sweater. The woman approached the table and in a soft-spoken voice, she asked if I was an Omega man — a reference to Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. I reached for my coffee, smiled and said, no, I’m not. I thought she would turn and walk away, but nope … she came closer to the table to begin a conversation.
As we continued to talk, she introduced herself as civil rights activist Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. We were surprised to learn she participated in a 1963 sit-in to integrate lunch counters in Jackson, Mississippi.
It was at that moment we realized Mulholland wasn’t just any little old lady. As I introduced my three sons, she said, “I think I got you beat, I have five sons.” She proceeded to name each of them, including Loki Mulholland, an Emmy Award-winning film producer who is the founder and executive director of The Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation.
ON THE WALL
As we spoke, Mulholland informed us about a picture of her in the back room of this Busboys and Poets location. On the main wall of the event space known as Paul’s Den - in honor of Paul Robeson - is a mural of various images displaying protests, activism and historic icons of the civil rights movement. Among the collage was the photo of a sit-in showing angry white people surrounding a younger Mulholland and other activists at a lunch counter. The crowd was leering as sugar was dumped on Mulholland’s head.
The entrance to Paul’s Den is past the bar and main dining room of Busboys and Poets in Shirlington, Va.
The photo of a young Joan Trumpauer Mulholland surrounded by an angry mob at a Jackson, Miss., lunch counter is on the bottom left of the mural in Paul’s Den.
“John Lewis gave good hugs.”
During our chat, Mulholland spoke of the last time she saw civil rights icon John Lewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. She said, “John Lewis gave good hugs.” I could tell from the look in her eyes how much she misses him and Medgar Evers, whom she worked with in Mississippi.
As she finished up our conversation and began to walk away, I started explaining to my sons the important role she played as a civil rights activist and Freedom Rider, who helped to integrate bus stations.
IMPACT
After meeting Mulholland that day, my wife and I did more research and were surprised by how little we knew about Mulholland and her role in history. I decided to share the photo we took together on LinkedIn, a popular professional social site. To date, the post received more than 465,000 impressions, over 10,900 reactions and 630 comments. People from diverse backgrounds thanked Mulholland in the comments.
Loki Mulholland, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland’s son, reached out on social media.
STRANGERS
This unlikely encounter happened so fast that it was only later that I realized its significance and meaning.
My family and I greeted this stranger as a stranger, even though she did not see us as strangers. Mulholland received me and my family as if we were old friends catching up since our last conversation. As we talked, it wasn’t long before we realized her greatness. She is a true activist who put herself in the line of danger so me, my wife and three sons could sit in that restaurant, at that table, and enjoy brunch.
I proudly applaud Mulholland and all those who are in the fight to advance equity, equality and racial justice.
