VA - BLOC

Did you know that Norfolk’s black community helped the 15th Amendment get ratified? in 1865, the African American community of Norfolk, Virginia, became the first in the country to seek equal rights on a national level with its Equal Suffrage address “to the People of the United States.” The Norfolk declaration, published later in 1865 as a 30-page pamphlet and distributed across the country. It helped build momentum for the 15th Amendment, which was ratified on February 3, 1870, and stated that the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

With the Federal attacks on black voting rights & power, we must remember this legacy and continue to fight to maintain equal suffrage for all.

Read the full address here:https://omeka.coloredconventions.org/files/original/e9ae5ff32560a8a954a064795e4e7ca6.pdf

Source Zinn Education Project

5/19/26: Today we honor Malcolm X on his 101st birthday. Malcolm’s message was centered in securing for the most marginalized & oppressed peoples. Our organizing continues this legacy in our communities and beyond. Learn more about Malcolm X: https://www.zinnedproject.org/?s=malcolm+x