NAACP

A letter sent by the Franklin County NAACP to the Rocky Mount Town Council formally requests the location change

Turning your guns into meals: that’s the idea behind a gun buyback event in Roanoke.

Dozens of people gathered in the Church on Main in Blacksburg to honor Dr. King Sunday. An event hosted by the Montgomery County Radford city Floyd County branch of the NAACP.

With just a couple of days until the start of Virginia’s General Assembly session, different groups are preparing their priorities.

The Roanoke branch of the NAACP held a Jubilee Day event to commemorate the day that the Emancipation Proclamation was signed into law.

A federal judge will consider arguments over racial discrimination, public safety and local democracy as he decides whether to block appointments to a state-run court set to be created on Jan. 1 in part of Mississippi’s majority-Black capital city.

The Virginia NAACP claims the Youngkin administration is not being transparent in their decision to restore voting rights to certain convicted felons.

North Carolina’s photo voter identification law is getting implemented in local elections that wrap up next week.

A civil rights legal group is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University, saying the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost to the mostly white children of alumni.

You can turn your firearms into a meal this weekend.

Quietly at the end of last month, members of the Rockbridge County-based Stonewall Brigade dedicated a property that will one day become a park that is home to Confederate statues and monuments.

The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. has joined other civil rights organizations in issuing a travel advisory for Florida.

The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws championed by Gov_ Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”.

Friday night a familiar face was among the community leaders recognized during the Roanoke Branch NAACP’s 23rd Annual Citizen of the Year Awards.

The NAACP warns that “separate and unequal policing” will return to Mississippi’s majority-Black capital under a state-run police department.

Whether you feel like you have a strong understanding of black history, or you're working to learn more, we've assembled 10 facts, or anecdotes, from history.com, to help you grow your knowledge base.

Several members are wanting more attention to be drawn towards the system of law enforcement.

The NAACP's 2023 legislative agenda places heavy focus on education.

A federal court has ruled South Carolina lawmakers illegally used race as the basis to redraw the boundaries of one of its U.S. House districts.

The federal government will put $600 million toward repairing the troubled water system in Mississippi’s capital city — a project that the mayor has said could cost billions of dollars.

A federal trial to determine whether South Carolina’s congressional maps are legal is closing with arguments over whether the state Legislature diluted Black voting power.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements for its failing water system.

The NAACP on Tuesday accused Mississippi of discriminating against Black residents by denying badly needed federal funds for drinking water infrastructure in Jackson and instead diverting money to largely-white communities that needed it less.

The NAACP was joined by the youth council to help get voters registered and raise money for their organization.

On Tuesday, the Montgomery Museum of Art and History said the NAACP will present its Black History Collection to the museum in August.

Community, business and civic leaders were honored on Friday during the Roanoke Branch NAACP’s 22nd Annual Citizen of the Year Awards.

Jennifer Hudson was named entertainer of the year at the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards that highlighted works by entertainers and writers of color.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will receive the President’s Award during the 53rd NAACP Image Awards this weekend.

The Roanoke branch of the NAACP is speaking out in support of voter rights and asking everyone to keep fighting.

One of several legal challenges to North Carolina’s contentious voter ID law is on hold amid a dispute over whether two justices on the state Supreme Court should recuse themselves.

The Roanoke Branch NAACP is holding its 4th Annual Drive-Thru Voter Registration on Saturday, Sept. 4.

Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are unveiling $9.25 million in new educational and humanitarian projects as they seek to build on an alliance formed with the NAACP in 2018.

The University of Lynchburg is making strides in building unity and fighting for racial justice. The institution recently chartered its NAACP chapter -- the first collegiate chapter in Central Virginia.

The University of Texas has announced that its marching band and pep band will be required to play “The Eyes of Texas” school song when they return to performing.

One Community, One Voice hosted the prayer vigil Wednesday at Lynchburg’s Monument Terrace, which included faith and city leaders and the police department.

There are growing calls for change across the Commonwealth after body camera video showed a traffic stop that ended with a Black and Latino Army officer getting pepper-sprayed.

Virginia’s NAACP state chapter is launching a campaign to end qualified immunity in the Commonwealth.

The NAACP has given him its Jackie Robinson Sports Award. And, for the first time, the nation's oldest civil rights organization is recognizing more than one person by honoring the WNBA Players Association. Ad“I am so proud of the WNBA players for this well-deserved recognition of their continued activism and advocacy for social justice and equality," WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement provided to the AP. Warriors coach Steve Kerr, outspoken on many issues himself, admires the WNBA players for their activism. “I love what the WNBA players have done.

Nearly four years after the NAACP warned travelers that their civil rights may not be respected if they visit the state, a Black woman has become the face of Missouri's tourism campaign. (Missouri Division of Tourism via AP). – A Black woman has become the face of Missouri's tourism campaign, nearly four years after the NAACP warned travelers that their civil rights may not be respected if they visit the state. Pictures also show her posing as a Foodie Mo, Barbecue Mo, Lake Mo, History Mo and more. He said Visit Missouri, the tourism website that features Mo, “auditioned over 200 actors and actresses with strong ties to Missouri.

(AP Photo/Jessica Hill)Mia Schultz has watched three other Black women in Vermont leave leadership posts in the mostly white state because of harassment and threats. Democratic state Rep. Kiah Morris, who was the only Black woman in the Vermont state Legislature, resigned that year partially in response to harassment from a self-described white nationalist. Anyone holding public office or high profile advocacy roles takes on risks as a public figure, but Black women face harassment and threats of violence aimed at them for both their gender and race. It's a challenge Black women leaders across the United States face and coincides with a surge of women, and women of color, running for office. Just this week during Vermont's annual town meetings, at least three Black women won seats on town and school boards.

DANVILLE, Va. – A board game meant to celebrate Danville’s history has instead created a conversation on what may have been left out. Danville NAACP president Tommy Bennett spoke during Tuesday’s city council meeting about his frustrations with the game, “Danville-opoly.” Bennett worried the game shunned Danville’s Black history, such as including the Union Street Bridge but not the Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge. “It did leave out a lot of Danville, and it left out the Black community,” Bennett told the city council. It has George Washington High School, but it doesn’t have the former Langston High School.”The company behind Danville-opoly, Cincinnati-based Late for the Sky, responded to 10 News’ inquiry about the game. The statement claims Late for the Sky offered to take Bennett’s advice on Danville’s Black historical sites after he called the company in February.

AMHERST COUNTY, Va. – A local NAACP chapter is urging the Amherst County Board of Supervisors not to adopt any First Amendment Sanctuary resolution against Governor Ralph Northam’s COVID-19 restrictions. “[A resolution] is not a great thing because health matters,” said Gloria Witt, a member of the Amherst County NAACP chapter. The chapter started an online petition to support restrictions and oppose Amherst County from accepting a resolution of their own. Witt points out that while they’ve collected 400 signatures so far, only a fraction are from Amherst County residents. Dean Rodgers, Amherst County administrator, says the Board is still in the drafting stage.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The city of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was motivated by race when it created a traffic plan designed to “suck the fun” out of Black Bike Week, a federal jury has found. But the same jury sided against the bikers, saying the city probably would have imposed the plan anyway. The Black bikers have been particularly frustrated by a 23-mile (37-kilometer) one-way no-exit traffic chute that funnels them out of town during the peak nights of Atlantic Beach Bikefest, otherwise known as Black Bike Week. The NAACP has tussled in court with the city, as well as local restaurants and a hotel, over their responses to the Black bikers for nearly two decades. That settlement expired in 2015, when the new traffic plan was established.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Motorcycle clubs roar into Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, each May for separate week-long rallies, one mostly white, the other mostly Black. White bikers rolling in days earlier for Harley Week each May are treated differently, Black bikers say. In opening arguments last week to five Black and four white jurors, an NAACP lawyer said Myrtle Beach during Bikefest is “like a city under martial law," The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported. The Atlantic Beach event soon sprawled into nearby towns, including Myrtle Beach, where most of the 35,000 residents are white. Myrtle Beach city and Chamber of Commerce officials refused to talk about the trial.

Advocacy groups say that is more difficult for some with a rise in voter suppression efforts since 2008. “Your voting right is one of the most important things that you have,” said Dr. Brenda Hale, president of the Roanoke branch of the NAACP. Hale said the NAACP works to register eligible voters, educate them and get them to the polls. She said the organization is also on the lookout for instances of voter suppression. Voter suppression is defined as strategies, legal or illegal, to prevent eligible voters from voting or registering to vote.

ROANOKE, Va. – Two separate rallies in Roanoke Sunday afternoon were motivated by the same goal: justice for Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police officers in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13. “It’s modern day lynching: death by police brutality," said Roanoke NAACP chapter president Brenda Hale. The NAACP’s event featured several prominent Roanoke politicians, including Del. No Justice No Peace’s demonstration was more expressive, while the NAACP’s event was more introspective.

NEW YORK Tyler Perry has won awards from the NAACP and BET. Now he's getting a big one from the Television Academy: He and his foundation are the recipients of the 2020 Governors Award. Tyler Perry has changed the face of television and inspired a new generation of content creators. He pioneered a new brand of storytelling that engages people of color both in front of and behind the camera, and his shows have resonated with a global audience, said Governors Award selection committee Chair Eva Basler in a statement. The award honors an individual or organization in the television arts and sciences whose achievement is so exceptional and universal in nature that it goes beyond the scope of annual Emmy Awards recognition.Previous recipients of the Governors Award include Star Trek, American Idol, Masterpiece Theater and Comic Relief.

AMHERST, Va. – A peaceful protest for civil rights popped up in Amherst Saturday evening. “No lives matter if Black lives can’t matter, and we have to say Black lives,” said Amherst NAACP President Gloria Witt. “They don’t think about us as a young voice. Some say, ‘oh, you’re so young, you don’t need to be heard.’”Before the march, county leaders explained what steps they have taken for equality. “As young people, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do what you can’t do,” Watkins said.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Black and white, young and old, about three dozen people gathered at the Pigg River Community Center Thursday afternoon to listen to community leaders speak about topics related to the coronavirus. The event was organized by the Franklin County NAACP chapter. “We’re just trying to make it known that there is an NAACP chapter in Franklin County,” Franklin County NAACP President Walter Lawson Jr. said. Questions for Franklin County Schools’ superintendent, not all of which were related to the virus, however, took up the bulk of the hour-long event. Volunteers were also on hand to help people become members of the Franklin County NAACP and register to vote.

ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – The NAACP addressed the current rise in coronavirus cases and how the police, schools and health departments are handling it among the African-American community. NAACP news conference in Rocky Mount The NAACP is addressing the current rise in coronavirus cases in Franklin County and how the police, schools and the health departments are handling it among the African-American community. Posted by WSLS 10 / WSLS.com on Thursday, July 9, 2020The Rocky Mount NAACP President Rev Walter Lawson and the Regional NAACP President Brenda Hale hosted this event. We apologize for some technical difficulties with the video.

ROANOKE, Va. – Juneteenth commemorations happened all across the country on Friday, but Roanoke’s celebration had a different set of leaders. Roanoke’s NAACP Youth Council organized Friday afternoon’s Juneteenth march through Roanoke’s Gainsboro neighborhood. “I realized I’m black inside and out, and I’m proud of that fact.”Several notable Roanokers attended the Juneteenth commemoration, including Mayor Sherman Lea, Police Chief Sam Roman, and Del. Washington-Brown said she’s optimistic Roanoke can make even more social progress by the time next Juneteenth comes, especially if people her age speak up. “I hope that other youth see this, and are encouraged to step forward and use their voices,” Washington-Brown said.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Juneteenth celebrations will continue in Lynchburg on Saturday. Members of Lynchburg’s NAACP are asking people to participate in a 5-mile bike ride for racial justice. Organizers said the bike ride will honor the holiday, show solidarity and raise money for the local chapter. People will gather at Percival Isle near the LOVE sign at 1 p.m.

COVINGTON, Va. – A local community is resurging its chapter of the NAACP. Residents of Clifton Forge and Covington are organizing to create one chapter in the Highlands. Right now, they are short of the 100 members needed to become official, so organizers are holding a membership drive. The vice mayor of Clifton Forge says when she got elected to council that’s when the community started coming to her, asking to bring the chapter back. She says their biggest concerns were access to jobs and economic opportunities for minorities.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The local NAACP chapter organized a demonstration at Monument Terrace in downtown Lynchburg on Tuesday. It followed nights of unrest that led to several arrests across the city and a mandatory 8 p.m. curfew. “I think it’s rooted in the right place but I think it’s also going to follow the same lines we’re all fighting right now. Let’s do that Lynchburg," shouted one of the clergy officials. Similar to the prayer vigil hosted by the Lynchburg faith-based community on Monday, local NAACP chapter leaders said events like Tuesday’s demonstration and clearly-defined strategy are the best ways to move forward.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Emotions ran high in downtown Lynchburg Tuesday at the local NAACP chapters demonstration. Perhaps the height of it all was when an officer stood alongside protesters. “It was 100% wrong and we just want to let the community know as an officer and the Lynchburg Police Department, we are here to support [them]," said an emotional Carson. The event was held at Monument Terrace in downtown Lynchburg. In an effort to better relations between the community and officers, Carson has organized a group that will speak with organizations or individuals one-on-one across the Hill City.

Lucy Addison Middle School needs us. Hale delivered an impassioned speech to dozens of people at Lucy Addison Middle School Monday evening in response to a fifth principal in 18 months leaving last week. The acting principal is Jonathan Rosser, a product of Roanoke City Schools and a 1995 graduate of William Flemming High School. Many teachers at Addison have had questions about administration, telling 10 News off camera that students are not always on their best behaviors. They pledged to step up and do something, whatever it may be, to save Lucy Addison and its students.

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke Branch of the NAACP is hosting a news conference at Lucy Addison Middle School after another principal has left the school.

ROANOKE, Va. – While most people celebrated the start of a new decade on New Years’ Day, hundreds of people packed into a Northwest Roanoke church to commemorate a different holiday. The Roanoke chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosted a Jubilee Day celebration Wednesday afternoon. Jubilee Day commemorates the day in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery. Roanoke NAACP President Brenda Hale hopes the people who came to celebrate Jubilee Day went into 2020 as motivated as ever. We cannot be silent, no matter how oppressed people are in our nation.”Roanoke mayor Sherman Lea also addressed the Jubilee Day crowd.

AFP/Getty ImagesRICHMOND, Va. - A local chapter of the NAACP is suing a Virginia county in an effort to change the names of schools named in honor of Confederate leaders. The Hanover County chapter of the NAACP said Friday that it was filing a federal lawsuit challenging the school names on constitutional grounds. The group says the county is forcing black students to attend schools that venerate Confederate imagery in violation of both the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The lawsuit said the county is compelling speech in support of "a legacy of segregation and oppression." The Hanover Board of Supervisors recently ousted a school board member who voted to change the names of Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School.

Over the next few days, white mobs stormed the streets attacking blacks indiscriminately. Scores of black men and women were killed that year in racial violence. "Overwhelmingly, it was whites attacking blacks," Krugler told CNN. "The Red Summer doesn't fit into the stories we tell ourselves about US history," Krugler says. Blacks across the country set up armed self-defense patrols to protect the communities the police failed to protect, Krugler says.