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They were given no time to contest the decision legally and, due to segregation and political suppression, lacked civic clout to fight it—a pattern in keeping with scholarship on suburban development across the United States and echoed in CML research on Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County.

The University Libraries' second annual Constitution Day Forum, co-sponsored by the libraries and the Center for Mason Legacies, brought scholars of history and political science into conversation with a practicing lawyer to examine immigration in context, policy, and practice.

"The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association collected and preserved the material culture at Mount Vernon, before the archive further evolved in response to what I am calling 'counter archival movements' among groups such as African American communities in places like Gum Springs," Oberle said.

"The Judicial Learning Center of Fairfax County is the first JLC at any state trial court in the entire country. It supports the Court Tour Program and highlights court cases from Fairfax County that have assisted in charting a course toward a more just society," said Clerk of Court Chris Falcon.

When VA250 Honorary Chair Carly Fiorina sought a campus discussion going beyond "convenient legends" to tell "the full story" of our nation's upcoming anniversary, CML and its Director George Oberle were a natural choice as guide and conversation partner.

CML’s contingent at the Fairfax event consisted of three members of the university’s history faculty and four doctoral students representing all phases of the department’s degree program, from year one to dissertation. Hands-on activities made fascinating research and techniques of local history accessible to attendees of all ages.

From the Enlightenment through the Early Republic, real scientific breakthroughs existed alongside dubious or speculative claims. Exploring debates between Federalists and Jeffersonians, Oberle looks at why "critical judgment, not just access, is what creates an informed public."