[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 88 (Tuesday, May 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E750-E751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAACP IN FAIRFAX COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 29, 2018

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the Fairfax County 
NAACP and the Tinner Hill Foundation on this momentous occasion. This 
year we are celebrating 100 years of involvement of the NAACP in 
Fairfax County and the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Tinner 
Hill Foundation.
  In 1915, threatened by the imposition of a new ordinance that would 
impose segregation in Falls Church, a group of African American men led 
by Joseph Tinner and Edwin Bancroft Henderson organized in opposition 
to this threat to their community. Even though serious threats of harm 
or death had been made by Ku Klux Klan members against Mr. Henderson, 
he and the other founding members of what was then known as the Colored 
Citizens Protection League and what would evolve into the Fairfax 
Chapter of the NAACP would not be intimidated. They chose to stand to 
fight for their rights and those of their neighbors. Since that time, 
the NAACP has worked for not only the civil rights of African-Americans 
in Fairfax County, but for the dignity and worth of every member of our 
community.
  I have been proud to stand with the Fairfax NAACP on these issues and 
have counted them as a partner throughout my career in public service. 
One project I am especially proud of is our work to create a Civil 
Rights archive to enshrine the history of our own community's efforts 
and struggles during that time. While the campaigns led by Dr. King in 
the Deep South were pivotal in the fight for equal rights, the 
injustices of racism and Jim Crow were not confined to those areas. 
African-American citizens of Fairfax County also faced discrimination 
and endured harsh treatment and abuse. This was at the hands of an 
entrenched white majority which had no plans on relinquishing the power 
they wanted desperately to maintain.
  Yet, as Dr. King would later do, the early founders of the Fairfax 
NAACP carried on and prevailed in the face of what must have seemed 
like overwhelming odds. Our community is better now because of that 
victory and the ones that would follow, and it is right this history be 
recounted and remembered for and by future generations. More recently, 
the Fairfax County NAACP has focused its efforts on combating voter 
suppression and criminal justice reform, two issues which show despite 
the successes of the Civil Rights movement, much more work still 
remains to build a truly equal and just society. In Fairfax County, one 
of the

[[Page E751]]

wealthiest counties in the entire United States, it can be easy to 
think such issues do not concern us or that our community does not have 
those kinds of problems. We must not allow our economic success and 
prosperity to blind us to the very real fact that the benefits of a 
truly just and equal society are not fully enjoyed by all members of 
our community. The work to build a fair society goes on and I will 
continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the NAACP in that work.
  As we commemorate and celebrate Black History Month, let us remain 
vigilant in our efforts and uncompromising in our belief that as Dr. 
King once said, ``An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice 
everywhere.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in continuing 
this march towards equality and justice. I congratulate the Fairfax 
County NAACP and the Tinner Hill Foundation on the occasion of their 
anniversaries and extend my deepest respect and appreciation for their 
efforts on behalf of all in our community.

                          ____________________