Delegate Cole presents Civil Rights Trail resolution to the City & UMW

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Delegate Joshua Cole presented H.R. 420, which passed the House of Delegates on March 8, 2024.  This resolution commended the work of the City of Fredericksburg and the University of Mary Washington in becoming the fourth site in Virginia included in the United States Civil Rights Trail. The 21-stop Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail “Freedom: A Work in Progress” includes sites articulating the local struggle for equality and preserves this important history.

The resolution reads “the trail sheds light on significant aspects of the history…fostering a deeper understanding of the hardships Black Americans faced in their pursuit of freedom, justice, and equality, the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail promises to enrich and preserve this history and to educate and inspire Virginians for generations to come.

The work of Chris Williams, Assistant Director of the James Farmer Multicultural Center (left) and Victoria Matthews, Fredericksburg’s Tourism Sales Manager, were particularly lauded, for their research and work within the community to obtain these remarkable stories and oral histories.

Mayor Kerry Devine, in comments at the Council meeting commended the community to discover the trail.  “There’s a wonderful online presence for the Civil Rights Trail…It is amazing work, it is in-depth work, and it really goes to our goal of telling a much more complete, rich history of our city.” Discover the Trail for yourself – start here – Freedom, A Work in Progress.