Shenandoah County NAACP 72AAB

09/03/2026

The vision of the NAACP is to create a society where every individual enjoys equal rights, free from racial hatred and discrimination. Our mission is to promote equity, secure political rights, and foster social inclusion by advancing policies and practices that uphold human and civil rights, eradicate discrimination, and enhance the well-being, education, and economic security of Black people and all communities of color. We aspire to build an inclusive community grounded in liberation, where everyone can fully exercise their civil and human rights without fear of discrimination.

To achieve this, we focus on three key strategies: Education, providing accurate, often overlooked or erased historical and social information; Agitation, actively challenging misinformation, discrimination, prejudices, and biases; and Litigation, utilizing the legal system when mediation and constructive dialogue are no longer effective. Together, these efforts aim to create a more just and equitable society for all.

We are looking for civil and human rights advocates. Contact us.

09/03/2026

: 🔸The owner said she wouldn’t have rented to the two couples if she’d known that the group included a Black man, according to their fair housing complaint. 🔸it was the comment about the Smiths’ son that motivated the two families to file the complaint.

Smith Mountain Lake is located across three counties in southwest Virginia: Bedford County, Franklin County, and Pittsylvania County.

The owner said she wouldn’t have rented to the two couples if she’d known that the group included a Black man, according to their fair housing complaint. Each has been paid about $417,0…

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

"access to justice means access for all, not just those who can afford it"

09/02/2026

Some days we get more visits than others. These can usually be traced to breaking events. In August, the obvious ones are the judge's order and the school board's vote to appeal.

But there was a third day when visits to a post surged. The event was the school board vote to add Juneteenth to the Shenandoah County Public Schools calendar. That post received over 13,000 views and nearly 7,000 unique viewers.

And why did our post that day go viral? It was shared to other pages in the county and beyond. It reached folks who were unhappy that the School Board would recognize the federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery. See the comment in the image below.

09/01/2026

On Aug. 28, 1899, hundreds of Black residents of Alexandria, Virginia, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church after a white mob lynched 16-year-old Benjamin Thomas. On Friday night, August 28, 2026, exactly 127 years later, I sat inside the same church as Alexandria gathered there again. The same day, about 100 miles south, workers in Richmond were removing three Confederate memorials from Capitol Square

Benjamin Thomas was denied his future at 16. Today, his name helps another Alexandria teenager build one, guest columnist Jeff Bennett writes.

09/01/2026

What the School Board knew, because the plaintiffs lawyers gave them the heads up in 2024:
🔸The plaintiffs further argue that the U.S. Congress enacted fee-shifting provisions -- a legal rule requiring the losing party to pay the winning party's attorneys' costs -- "to ensure that qualified counsel can bring civil rights cases to vindicate the rights protected by the Constitution and federal statutes."
🔸"The Supreme Court has explained that a fee award should be calculated 'to encourage the bringing of meritorious civil rights claims which might otherwise be abandoned because of the financial imperatives surrounding the hiring of competent counsel.'"
🔸The plaintiffs also argue the fee award amount they seek serves as a deterrent.
Northern Virginia Daily, nvdaily.com

09/01/2026

Northern Virginia Daily, Volume 74, Number 208, 3 September 1959 (link in comments)
🔸A Letter to the Editor by P. J. Smith of Strasburg. "Calls Editor Prejudiced on the Topic of Integration". Read it all.
🔸The "Editor's Note" printed below the letter concludes, "Integration is a political issue. We do not claim infallibility, but we do want our readers to know we are not inflicting our opinions upon them without a careful study of the subject of race relations.

09/01/2026

The School Board knew from the start in 2024 that if it lost its defense of Confederate School names, the county would owe plaintiffs' attorney fees. They knew because the plaintiffs' attorney told them and gave them an off-ramp. Instead, the School Board took the risk. See link in comments.

The county's taxpayers were not informed of the financial gamble the School Board was taking. Instead, supporters of the School Board's action spread the word that insurance covered the legal expenses.

Did the School Board inform the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors of the risk in 2024? The Supervisors, after all, pay the School Board's bills with taxpayer money. Were the Supervisors consulted about the School Board's recent decision to appeal, increasing the size of the gamble?

09/01/2026