correction
An earlier version of this article had the wrong titles for LaVerne Langhorne and Kimberly Roberts. Langhorne is the manager, not founder, of the community garden and Roberts is the former secretary, not treasurer, of the civil association. This article has been corrected.
Along the southern edge of Arlington, Va., it’s easy to miss the understated rows of brick homes that make up Green Valley.
The industrial neighborhood abuts the bustling dining and commercial center of Shirlington and includes the Washington and Old Dominion trailhead, a favorite waypoint for runners and cyclists. But it wasn’t until the 2022 renovation and renaming of Jennie Dean Park along South Four Mile Run Drive that the region drew meaningful attention to what Green Valley represents: a historically Black neighborhood with deep ties to local Civil Rights history and a number of lifelong residents who preserve its character.
