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Franklin County NAACP updates board on USCT monument project and school outreach

6692566 · October 13, 2025

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Summary

The Franklin County NAACP told the board about a community-driven research and monument project—"Raising the Shade Franklin County 1850-1910"—that aims to recognize county men who served in the United States Colored Troops and to interface with school curriculum.

Eric Anspaugh, president of the Franklin County NAACP, updated the school board on the "Raising the Shade Franklin County 1850 to 1910" project on Oct. 13, describing community engagement and plans to unveil a monument honoring Franklin County United States Colored Troops.

Anspaugh said the NAACP was a finalist for a Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia (MAV) grant led by Virginia Tech and funded by the Mellon Foundation. The project has held community listening sessions and educational forums with more than 200 participants and is working with a USCT ancestry and education committee composed in part of retired Franklin County school faculty to align research with school curriculum and Standards of Learning where appropriate.

Anspaugh told the board the project timeline will conclude with a monument unveiling "this winter" and provided a date for the unveiling as Sunday, Jan. 18, 2025, and said the monument will be placed on the grounds of the original Rocky Mount First Baptist Church. He said the NAACP hopes the research and monument can inform classroom instruction and community awareness.