Bill Text: VA HR429 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Commending the Reverend Michelle Thomas.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-02-22 - Bill text as passed House (HR429ER) [HR429 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-HR429-Introduced.html
WHEREAS, in 2018, the Reverend Michelle Thomas was elected as president of the Loudoun County Branch of the NAACP; and
WHEREAS, Michelle Thomas is an Atlanta, Georgia, native and daughter of Jamaican immigrants; she grew up with the children of civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, as a high school student, Michelle Thomas led student demonstrations during the 1987 civil rights march in Forsyth County, Georgia; working alongside the likes of Coretta Scott King, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Dick Gregory, and the Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, she helped mobilize hundreds of high school students across Georgia; and
WHEREAS, Michelle Thomas' role with the NAACP is one of organizing the community and working with elected officials to put policy in place to counter hatred and prejudice and promote unity; and
WHEREAS, Michelle Thomas serves as the pastor at Holy and Whole Life Changing Ministries; she was the first African American woman to be appointed to the Loudoun County Heritage Commission; and
WHEREAS, Michelle Thomas established the Loudoun Freedom Center, which recognizes, preserves, protects, and restores historic African American cemeteries in the area; through her work, the African American Burial Ground for the Enslaved at Belmont was rediscovered and is now protected by the Loudoun Freedom Center; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Reverend Michelle Thomas hereby be commended on her election as president of the Loudoun County Branch of the NAACP; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Reverend Michelle Thomas as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for her dedication to mobilizing the community against prejudice by focusing on community unity and love.