Chesterfield's NAACP: Small group with a big presence

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer The Chesterfield NAACP formally handed over its archives to the Chesterfield Historical Society during a special ceremony at Magnolia Grange earlier this month. Those attending included (from left) L.J. McCoy Jr., current Chesterfield NAACP president, Robert Harvey, past president, Jerome Seldon, past president, Peter Lipowicz, president of the Chesterfield Historical Society of Virginia, Rev. Lawrence Pollard, past president, and Wanda Moore Skinner, past youth leader.

It might be safe to say that the majority of Chesterfield residents are unaware of the existence of a NAACP chapter within the county. It might also be fair to say that most people think the organization is only for African Americans. These are perceptions that Chesterfield's NAACP leadership want to address.

The Chesterfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was chartered in 1983. Founding President Rev. Lawrence D. Pollard remembers those early days when the group met in Baptist churches in Midlothian and other parts of the county.

"We were impressed at the peoples' interest, so we wrote to the national office and requested a new charter for the county," he recalls.

There had been a chapter in the southern part of the county, in the Ettrick and Matoaca areas, which was quite active in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, but as the leadership aged out, young people failed to take their places, and the chapter became largely inactive. Pollard's experience with the NAACP in Ohio made him a natural candidate to lead in the founding of a revitalized, broader county chapter.

Pollard headed up the Chesterfield NAACP for 12 years, while employed as chaplain at the Southside Virginia Training Center. He guided the chapter through many changes, including its incorporation as a nonprofit, the campaign to elect African-American Jesse Mayes to the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors, an unsuccessful attempt to have a black appointed to the school board and the appointment of a black ombudsman to represent black students in the school system. He was also involved in the county's decision to host Black History Month celebrations each year.

The national organization's Web site states the group's mission is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and discrimination. Education remains a top priority of the Chesterfield chapter, states Pollard.

"We would like to increase the black presence in leadership and teaching staffs," he reports. "We've been real pleased with our efforts. We feel that our involvement has helped lead to the appointment of two fine black school superintendents. What that says is that all of us are equal, and we all have something to offer to the community."

It was just that vision that the founders of the national organization held when they met in 1909 in a hotel in Canada - on the far side of Niagara Falls because U.S. hotels were segregated. Led by Harvard professor and scholar W.E.B. DuBois, the core group's immediate goal was to enlarge itself and its funding resources. This brought about the invitation to 60-some prominent Americans to join. Although Abraham Lincoln's 100th birthday on April 12, 1909, was the target beginning day, the group didn't actually meet for another three months; however, the April date is generally cited as the founding date of the organization. Moorfield Storey, who was white, was the president of the NAACP from its founding until 1915.

In the early years, the organization worked to overturn Jim Crow laws, which mandated "separate but equal" status for whites and non-whites, to win the right of black soldiers to serve as officers in World War I and to overturn voter disenfranchisement. As the campaign for civil rights progressed, the focus of the NAACP centered on education and the law. Other groups, such as that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., clashed with the NAACP over strategy and leadership issues, but the dominance of the NAACP was re-established in the mid-1960s when its civil rights activism culminated in President John F. Kennedy's sending of a civil rights bill to Congress.

Along with increased representation in the field of education, Chesterfield's civil rights activism prioritizes outreach that purposes to bring more people of all races to the table. Current President L.J. McCoy reports, "We have a good relationship with the registrar, the police department and most of the supervisors. We want to be more involved in community events, such as the loaning of the chapter's archives to the Chesterfield Historical Society for use by the public at its library."

Seeking to center its collection of documents, photographs and records in one safe location, several dignitaries, including Pollard, McCoy and past chapter presidents Jerome Seldon and Robert Harvey met with Chesterfield Historical Society President Dr. Peter Lipowicz and other society members earlier this month to formally hand over the archives. They will be cataloged and added to the society's library collection at Castlewood where they can be viewed by the public.

McCoy is pleased with the opportunity each year to take elementary school children to the General Assembly on Political Awareness Day so that "they can understand how the government works and how people can participate in government, so that one day they may choose to become involved."

Becoming involved in her community was the reason Michelle Collins-Robinson started attending NAACP meetings recently.

"I was trying to figure out how I could be involved with a community organization that was nonpartisan," she says.

She did not want to become a member of a group with a political affiliation, but one that would benefit the community.

"I have learned since becoming involved that whatever is good for one group of people is good for all and that the community is only as good as the people involved."

Since junior high school, Collins-Robinson has valued the importance of communication no matter how different people are from one another.

"We might not be able to change each other's direction, but at least we can respect one another. I feel President Obama embodies all those principles, and that's why so many people gravitated toward him, because he embodies decency, honesty and respect."

When asked to reflect on the changes that have taken place during his 25 years with the Chesterfield NAACP, Pollard strikes a positive note. "I believe that a lot of the good things that have happened racially in Chesterfield can be attributed to the NAACP, and I'm delighted that our small group, with concern, compassion and dedication, has been able to get a few things done. We need to get to the point where we can honestly have discussions about race relations. We need to learn how to treat each other with concern and compassion, not because we might get sued," he asserts.

Pollard is especially encouraged by the role youth have played in the chapter. He calls them "magnificent groups of young people who have received national acclaim for some of their projects, such as leadership within their peer groups. They have noticed that it is very easy to have negative outlooks and seek to become people unafraid of the negative."

Pleased with the positive relationships the Chesterfield NAACP has with county leaders and others, Pollard, McCoy and Collins- Robinson are all optimistic about the group's future. Honest talk about race, getting back to the core belief of inclusivity for all races, and becoming more community-oriented summarizes the chapter's goals.

"Every good thing has its ebb and flow," says Collins-Robinson. "The more the NAACP does outreach, the more people will see that it is a group for all people, not just for African-American people."

For more information about the Chesterfield NAACP, visit www.chesterfieldnaacp.org. The chapter meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Centralia, 2920 Kingsdale Road. The leadership encourages interested parties of all races to attend.