Hide Article Text (OCR)
A6 SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 2014SATURDAY IN THE STARTHE WINCHESTER STARNAACPfrom Page A1Knowing the local branc h organized in the summer of 1944 and that it was officially chartered in September took everybody by surprise. Borders-Walker said.Chapter members knew- it had a presence in the community before it was chartered on Sept. 9, 1974 — when it was reorganized — but they did not have any documentation to prove it.“History and the truth open up all kinds of doors,” she said. ‘That way we can advance. I am one of those people who believes if you don’t know your history, how are you going to set a path for your future?”In the fall, the chapter received handwritten documents found in the NAACP files at the library of Congress dating to the group’s start in 1944 and now is taking a closer look at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives of the Handley library in Winchester, Borders-Walker said.Moving forwardThe developments relating to the chapter’s history are still new and the current organization relatively young, having reactivated in 2(X)9 after a 10-year hiatus, said Tyson Gilpin, chairman of the education committee.“What direction and what we are going to do next remains to be seen.However, he knows the members want to pursue the subject of the chapter’s history, possibly doing research through the national headquarters of the NAACP and the National Archives.The early consensus is that the group will mark the anniversary during its annual Freedom Fund Banquet in September, Borders-Walker said, although she does not have any detailed plans.The members are taking the extra time to learn as much as they can and possibly find more connections to those early years, she said, “to do it right.One possibility is inviting the descendants of those early branch founders to honor their courage in a racially charged time, she said.“I think it is important as far as black history and the community. We weren’t just slaves. We were strone and smart. We have talentsNAACP Winchester Area Branch 7127 members (from left) Tyson Gilpin, chairman of the Education Committee, Gwen Borders-Walker, president, and Darlene Walker, past secretary, pose for a portrait. The organization reactivated in 2009 after a 10-year hiatus and is hoping renewed interest in the chapter's history will build membership. The local chapter meets at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month in Highland Episcopal Church at 448 Highland Ave.were tired of being mistreated, abused, beaten, and thrown in jail because they were not subservient enough.In time, “people reached a limit,” which was a commonly shared attitude where the branches began to be chartered in the South, she said.Digging deeperThe documents from the Library of Congress that first revealed the Winchester branch’s origins were found by Casey Turben, a senior history and political science major at Shenandoah University.He was part of a research project tied to the university’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird in November.Eight NAACP. workers pose for a portrait in St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church at 428 N. Loudoun St. in 1944 (seated, from left): Unidentified, William Brown, unidentified and Rosie Bartlett: (standing, from left) George Monroe, unidentified, Mary Laws and Alice Catlett. The Winchester Area chapter was chartered on Sept. 11,1944, according to records at the National Headquarters of the NAACP in Baltimore. The local chapter received handwritten documents found in the NAACP files at the Library of Congress and now is taking a closer look at the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives in Winchester’s Handley Library to learn more about the group’s history.Photo provided by the Stewart J. Bell Jr. Archives of the Handley Libraryratm in thp rnmmunitv.”Winchester Area Branch 7127GINGER PERRY The Winchester Star
Newspaper Details
Winchester Star
Winchester, Virginia, US
Sat, Mar 08, 2014
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Handley R.
VA, USA 19 Aug 2024
Other Publications Near Winchester, Virginia
The Winchester Times
The Star
The Evening Star
Winchester Gazette
Winchester Evening Star
