On January 10th, 2020 at 6pm activists, community leaders, artists and organizations will join together at the corner of William and Charles for a peaceful, interfaith candlelight vigil and rally to re-affirm, stand behind, honor, center, and listen to Black Voices in our community.

Our gathering is supported by National, Statewide and local community organizations:

Virginia Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Southerners On New Ground group aka Pride FXBG, ICE OUT of Virginia//Fuera de FXBG Fredericksburg Food Not Bombs and led by affected leaders in our community.

Pastor Hashmel C. Turner, Jr. read the following letter that he sent to the Mayor and Members of the Fredericksburg City Council:

I have a request to the Mayor and City Council! I ask that you draw up a proclamation letter addressed to the descendants of those formerly enslaved African Americans in the City.

Virginia celerates this year 2019, 400 years of the arrival of Africans to Virginia shores. The City of Fredericksburg had a role in what we call today human trafficking, then called slave trading, but has never apologized to the City's Black Citizens who may be descendants of those sold on the Auction Block!

As a Black Citizen, I am asking that a proclamation letter be drawn up by the Mayor and Council apologizing for the City of Fredericksburg's past role in the institution of slavery, hopefully published before the end of this year.

If the end of year deadline cannot be met, I hope the Mayor will be able to read it at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prayer breakfast on January 20, 2020.

Respectfully submitted by,

Pastor Hashmel C. Turner, Jr.

This was the first Fredericksburg event by the Virginia Poor People's Campaign. Local residents were joined by the newly formed Shenandoah Valley - Waynesboro Poor People's Campaign along with Central Virginia members from Caroline County, Richmond, Ashland and Mechanicsville.