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Voting Rights March of 1965 Reenactment Held Saturday, Hundreds Participate

   Written by on August 18, 2016 at 11:07 am

LUNENBURG – An event that took nearly a year of planning and organization saw around 400 participants brave the high heat to recognize the Voter’s Registration Rights March of 1965 with a reenactment event this past Saturday.

Front  of Lunenburg Insider March PicWith temperatures souring near triple digits, participants made the four mile trek from First Baptist Church in Victoria to the Lunenburg County Courthouse with escorts from the Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office, VDOT, Virginia State Police and Victoria Fire and Rescue.

Once at the Lunenburg Courthouse the Lunenburg County Historical Society helped out by providing participants with bottles of water. Part of the reenactment committee and organziers Edward Pennington and Wanda Morrison introduced Delegates Roslyn Tyler and Tommy Wright who both represent portions of Lunenburg in the Virginia House of Delegates. The two Delegates  presented a framed copy of a resolution honoring Lunenburg civil rights activist, Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne. The resolution noted that Hawthorne was a passionate civil rights advocate who fought for justice and dignity for his fellow residents of Southside Virginia.

Hathorne died on June 9, 1975. Two of his children were at the event on Saturday to accept the framed resolution and honor their father. A copy of the resolution will also be hung at Lunenburg County Courthouse.

Participants then made a short walk to Tussekiah Baptist Church near the Courthouse location before Lunenburg County Public Schools provided transportation back to Central High School for more fellowship.

At Central High School participants were also able to learn more about William Monnie who wrote the book, The Lake Effect. This book highlighted many challenges and successes in Lunenburg County during the 1960’s and helped with the idea of creating this reenactment.

The day saw many local government officials from the Victoria Town Council and the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors as well as the local Delegates on hand to help with the event. Also in attenance was Jane Dittmar, a canddidate for the United States House of Representatives and the Honorable Nan Orrock, Senator from Atlanta, Ga.

Victoria Town Council Member Sandra Jones participated in the original march as a 13- year-old. She stated, “Even as a young child, I understood the importance of voting and having the proper hours for registering to vote.” She continued, “Highlighting our past helps us in the present day.”

Arthur Townsend, Sr. also participated in the original march as a 23-year-old who was just out of active duty in the United States Military. He said that this event in 1965 served as a “thank you” to the county officials who made changes to the voting rights hours in Lunenburg.

The original event occurred in Lunenburg County, Virginia on August 3, 1965 with a demonstration march to the Lunenburg County Courthouse by nearly 300 local citizens.  The march was in support of the impending passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (August 6) and to protest the existence of the Poll Tax.  The march was also intended to protest inadequate voter registration hours, but on July 31, 1965 the Electoral Board of Lunenburg County decided to grant adequate hours for voter registration just a few days before the demonstration. Grateful demonstrators displayed signs thanking the Electoral Board for “granting adequate hours for voter registration.”

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