BUZZ Live! is back with the Franklin County NAACP to chat with the inspiring folks who are “Raising the Shade” on the 70 African-American men who fought for the Union during the Civil War. We talk with the people presenting at the Raising the Shade forum on May 31 where participants will learn more about the role of the United States Colored Troops in moving the United States closer to its ideals.
Watch our BUZZ starring Raising the Shade that aired Feb. 5, 2025
Monuments are all around us … testaments to people and places of the past.
One such monument stands on the courthouse lawn in Franklin County, Virginia, honoring the county’s ancestors who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. But the nonprofit Franklin County NAACP has begun asking: Why do we honor these forefathers who fought for a cause to keep other forefathers of ours enslaved? What role did the foremothers have in preserving this history? And, if we insist on memorializing one side of the story, can we at least start to pay tribute to the other?
With funding they’ve received from the Mellon Foundation as part of a Virginia Tech led initiative titled “Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia,” these citizens have banded together to form an organization called “Raising the Shade.” Their mission: create new monuments that celebrate the county’s 70 African-American ancestors who fought for the Union during the Civil War in a branch of the Army known as the United States Colored Troops.
This BUZZ is part 2 of a multi-episode project we’re producing in partnership with the Franklin County NAACP.