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civil war

BUZZ stars Raising the Shade finale 900 506 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ stars Raising the Shade finale

All are invited to our BUZZ Watch Party on Feb. 28, 7:00 pm ET, at First Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, Va., as we conclude our 4-part series featuring the Franklin County NAACP’s initiative “Raising the Shade.”Since January 2025, BUZZ has featured the nonprofit as it has shared the story of the county’s 70 African American men who fought for the Union in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops.

Our series concludes with the culmination of the nonprofit’s work: the unveiling ceremony of a statue in downtown Rocky Mount to honor the USCT. While thousands of Confederate monuments dot the U.S., fewer than 25 exist honoring the 200,000 Black men who fought in the United States Colored Troops.

With support from Virginia Tech’s Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, funded by the Mellon Foundation, the NAACP has indeed “raised the shade” on this untold history.

 

BUZZing about Franklin County NAACP’s “Raising the Shade” 900 506 Michael Hemphill

BUZZing about Franklin County NAACP’s “Raising the Shade”

Since January 2025, we’ve buzzed with the Franklin County (Va.) NAACP as it has shared the story of the county’s 70 African American men who fought for the Union in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, at 3:00 pm ET, the NAACP’s work culminates with an Official Monument Unveiling Ceremony at First Baptist Church of Rocky Mount. A reception follows at the Harvester Center. The event is free and open to the public.

MORE INFORMATION HERE

While thousands of Confederate monuments dot the U.S., fewer than 25 exist honoring the 200,000 Black men who fought in the United States Colored Troops. With support from Virginia Tech’s Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, funded by the Mellon Foundation, the NAACP has “raised the shade” on this untold history, the climax of which is a statue sculpted by famed artists Rick Weaver and Paul DiPasquale.

We look forward to filming the event for an upcoming episode on Blue Ridge PBS to culminate our work alongside this inspiring nonprofit!

Catch up on our work highlighting and helping Raising the Shade!

Our episode Feb. 5, 2025 shares the origins of Raising the Shade.

Our episode Aug. 27, 2025 shares the Raising the Shade forum in which scholars from around the U.S. came to Franklin County to share their research.

BUZZ stars Raising the Shade 900 506 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ stars Raising the Shade

To conclude our 5th season, BUZZ highlights the Franklin County NAACP’s Raising the Shade community forum on May 31 that shared with hundreds of people from across the Commonwealth the history of the county’s 70 African-American men who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

This event provides a “sneak peek” at our episode – part 3 of our 4-part Raising the Shade series – that airs August 27 at 7:00 pm EDT on Blue Ridge PBS.

Funded by the Mellon Foundation through Virginia Tech’s Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, Raising the Shade seeks to provide citizens with a fuller history of the Civil War rather than the racist one depicted by a Confederate monument on the Franklin County courthouse lawn.

About the episode:

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 Live! is part 3 of a multi-episode project we’re producing in partnership with the Franklin County NAACP.

BUZZ Live! stars Raising the Shade 900 506 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ Live! stars Raising the Shade

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.  During the 30-minute live talk show we’ll offer a “sneak peek” into 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.​

Join BUZZ Live! in person on Sunday, May 4, at 4:00 pm EST at First Baptist Church of Rocky Mount, or tune in to our livestream on Facebook and YouTube. Register below to attend.

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About the episode:

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 Live! is part 2 of a multi-episode project we’re producing in partnership with the Franklin County NAACP.

BUZZ Watch Party stars Masterpiece Alliance 900 506 Michael Hemphill

BUZZ Watch Party stars Masterpiece Alliance

All are invited to a free Watch Party on March 11, 2025, at 7:00 pm EST to get a sneak peek at our newest BUZZ starring Masterpiece Alliance (episode airs March 26 on Blue Ridge PBS)! Doors open at 6:30 pm. Many thanks to John M. Oakey & Son for hosting us!

About the episode:

Masterpiece Alliance believes all people are created as masterpieces, especially those with intellectual disabilities. But once these individuals who suffer from Down syndrome, cerebral palsy or autism leave high school, they often struggle to find friends and have a social life. 

The mission of Masterpiece Alliance is to create community for these individuals to gather together to laugh, love, serve, and grow. One place where you might assume they can find community is the church. But that’s often not the case. Masterpiece Alliance seeks to help churches be more accommodating, and gets some help with that outreach from the marketing wizards at Wordsprint.

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