2024 News & Media
New leadership, robust advocacy planned by Arlington NAACP in 2025
ARLnow - December 18, 2024
As the NAACP Arlington Branch approaches its first leadership change in two years, the organization aims to build on its advocacy efforts.
On issues ranging from housing and education to voting rights and criminal-justice reform, “our branch has been leading the way,” outgoing president Michael Hemminger said at the body’s last meeting of the year, held Monday (Dec. 16).
School Board candidates: APS leaving some groups of students behind
ARLnow - October 24, 2024
Is Arlington Public Schools a two-tiered education system, with some groups receiving needed resources while others are left behind?
That was the view, to varying degrees, of the four candidates vying for two open School Board seats.
Speaking at a Monday (Oct. 21) online forum sponsored by the Arlington NAACP, the contenders all suggested school-system policies and leadership were not doing well by students of color and some groups having specialized needs.
Death at Arlington Co. jail prompts federal lawsuit
WTOP News - October 16, 2024
The death of an inmate at the jail in Arlington County, Virginia, has led to a lawsuit filed in federal court by the inmate’s parents.
Paul Thompson was found dead in his cell in February 2022.
The lawsuit, filed against health care providers at the jail, seeks “actual damages and punitive damages,” claiming negligence and medical malpractice.
“Thompson was a mentally ill and homeless man who was arrested for trespassing at a local mall and then sent to jail,” according to the lawsuit.
Family of inmate who died in custody files civil rights lawsuit against Arlington County Jail
WUSA9 CBS - October 15, 2024
More than two years after a man died in custody at the Arlington County Jail, family members have filed a federal lawsuit. Paul Thompson was arrested on trespassing charges and died at the jail in February 2022.
Thompson's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against some of the organizations and people responsible for Thompson's healthcare on Monday. The NAACP Arlington Branch reports the suit targets the jail's medical provider, Mediko, and individuals employed to provide care at the jail.
Arlington Building Projects Halted Following ‘Missing Middle’ Court Decision
Arlington Magazine - October 4, 2024
Dozens of multifamily housing projects and builders are in the lurch following last week’s court decision to overturn Arlington’s Expanded Housing Option (EHO) ordinance, often referred to as Missing Middle zoning.
The county is notifying developers, builders and owners of properties with EHO permits that their permits are now void—and no longer exist.
County Board announces plans to fire Human Rights Commission and clarify its role
ARLnow - August 16, 2024
The Arlington County Board has announced plans to dismiss all current members of the Human Rights Commission.
Following months of mounting tension, the County Board plans to revise the commission’s charter and clarify members’ duties. Commissioners who wish to stay would have to reapply for the role “with an explicit understanding of the HRC’s clarified duties and responsibilities,” Board Chair Libby Garvey said in an email yesterday (Thursday).
Arlington debates ‘missing middle’ again — this time in court
WAMU NPR - July 17, 2024
Trial arguments in the lawsuit over Arlington’s ‘missing middle’ zoning ordinance ended on Monday after a week of legal wrangling and dueling expert testimony.
The zoning reform, passed by the county board in March 2023, permits duplexes, townhomes, and buildings of up to six units on most residential lots, making Arlington the first jurisdiction in Virginia and one of the first in the country to end single-family-only zoning.
Racial equity arguments raised in NAACP filing on Missing Middle lawsuit
ARLnow - July 9, 2024
As the much-anticipated Missing Middle trial began this week, the Arlington NAACP is arguing that the case has wide-ranging implications for racial equity.
In a 55-page amicus brief filed in advance of opening statements on Monday, the local NAACP chapter argued that single-family zoning has racist origins and that undoing Missing Middle would be a step backward for racial progress.
Family say they only learned loved one died when they were sent his ashes
WUSA9 CBS - July 3, 2024
As they remembered the life of 33-year-old Tori Thompson on Tuesday, loved ones and the NAACP Arlington Branch called for more police training and better transparency.
Tori Thompson died of a fentanyl overdose outside the Econolodge on Langston Boulevard on July 5, 2023, according to his family. However, they claim they weren't told about his death until November when they began searching for him.
Family says they weren’t told their loved one was dead until they were sent his ashes
KKTV11 CBS - July 3, 2024
A Virginia family is wondering why they weren’t told their loved one was dead until his ashes came home.
The family of 33-year-old Tori Thompson says it all started around this time last year when he died of a fentanyl overdose outside of a motel.
His mother, Angela Thompson, said she still questions why it took more than four months before she found out her son died.
She claims the backpack that police found with him would have contained enough information to be able to notify next of kin.
Virginia mother and local NAACP want police to explain why they weren't told about son's death
FOX5 - July 3, 2024
The family of Tori Thompson, alongside the Arlington chapter of the NAACP, is calling for transparency regarding the Arlington Police Department's apparent failure to notify Thompson's loved ones of his passing.
Juneteenth celebrations in the DC area include fireworks and special National Archives display
June 19, 2024 - NBC4 Washington
Juneteenth is a national holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States, celebrated every year on June 19.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, when news of liberation reached 250,000 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, the Smithsonian Museum says. That was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Observances are often joyful and frequently celebrate the legacies of those who fought for freedom. They come through prayer, family gatherings and food. For many cities, it's an opportunity to create larger events including parades and festivals.
‘They got it wrong': Arlington drops eminent domain effort for family's home
May 31, 2024 - NBC4 Washington
After the county board voted unanimously in March to take the home by eminent domain, Fortson launched a public campaign to alert the community and try to save the home, putting up signs and starting a petition. More recently, the NAACP Arlington Branch joined the fight, accusing county leaders of failing to follow their own equity guidelines.
“It’s time for our county leaders to live the values that we have elected them to live,” branch President Michael Hemminger said.
Arlington NAACP mulls legal steps over concerns about county jail
GazetteLeader - May 29, 2024
Arlington’s NAACP branch is upping in the ante in its efforts to gather more information about inmate deaths at the Arlington County Detention Facility.
Members of the civil-rights group voted May 20 to hire an attorney to provide advice and take court action, if necessary, to force the Sheriff’s Office and county government to provide more information about the deaths.
“There is no fight that we will not stray from in the pursuit of justice,” Arlington NAACP chair Michael Hemminger said at the meeting.
Arlington NAACP to Arlington County Board: Hands Off Black Owned Home
Black Virginia News - May 29, 2024
The Battle for 1802 Columbia Pike. An effort to take down a home owned by a Black family in Arlington is in the news after the five member, and currently all-white, Arlington County Board moved in the direction of taking down the home using eminent domain. A petition drive has been started against that action. The 3-bedroom, 2 bathroom brick house built in 1929 is 1,750 square feet.
Arlington County reverses eminent domain pursuit on Columbia Pike home after community feedback
WUSA9 CBS - May 29, 2024
After strong opposition to a plan to acquire a nearly 100-year-old home in Arlington, county officials said they're no longer pursuing the property by eminent domain.
Board Chair Libby Garvey said county staff will negotiate to purchase some of the land as part of a bigger transportation improvement project, which would avoid tearing down the home that belonged to Karen Newman's family for decades.
Labor protections are worth a year of Career Center construction delays, unions and lawmakers say
ARLnow - May 7, 2024
Arlington unions and state representatives are doubling down on calls for more labor protections in the construction of the new Arlington Career Center.
A $132 million construction contract is up for consideration at an Arlington School Board meeting on Thursday. At least a year of delays would likely result if the School Board seeks a prevailing wage agreement for the project, guaranteeing that workers get paid wages comparable to market rates, Arlington Public Schools staff said at a meeting last month.
Why an effort to expand the Arlington police auditor’s access to records unraveled
ARLnow - March 28, 2024
Last year, an attempt to broaden the Arlington police auditor’s access to police records quietly fizzled before reaching the public for discussion.
The auditor currently can access police records for publicly filed misconduct complaints and review summaries of the Arlington County Police Department’s internal investigations, which ACPD has about a month and a half to generate and anonymize.
Arlington County Board and Human Rights Commission clash over DOJ investigation letter
ARLnow - February 23, 2024
The Arlington County Board and the Human Rights Commission are at odds over whether commissioners had the right to request an investigation into possible human and civil rights violations at the county jail.
Earlier this month, the commission sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, voicing concerns over reports that inmates at the jail lack adequate healthcare, a situation they argue could put them “at risk of death and severe harm.” This follows up on letters to the County Sheriff’s Office and the DOJ from the Arlington branch of the NAACP and its national organization, asking for an investigation after hearing from former and current inmates.
Arlington organizers ask county for $2M to help stem youth fentanyl use
Washington Post - February 10, 2024
Advocacy groups are asking Arlington County to dedicate $2 million in the next county budget to fight youth overdoses, as two deaths last year rocked the community and fentanyl persists as a threat in the D.C. region.
Arlington Advocates Call For $2 Million To Address Student Overdoses
dcist - February 8, 2024
Jorge Chavarria Rodriguez was only a few weeks into his first year at Wakefield High School in Arlington when he overdosed and died on Sept. 24, 2023. His mother, Luz Rodriguez, doesn’t want his death to be in vain.
“Before September 24th, I didn’t know that fentanyl was so easy to get. I didn’t know that only a tiny amount could kill you. I didn’t know you could die the first time you used drugs. I didn’t know that the peer pressure to use was so bad. I didn’t know that drugs could catch up with you, even if your mom tried hard to protect you,” she said in Spanish. Her voice broke with emotion, but her purpose did not.
Arlington's battle against teen overdoses; community takes steps to prevent tragedies
FOX5 - February 7, 2024
Hundreds of students, parents, and advocacy groups in northern Virginia came together Wednesday to discuss drug use in schools.
The goal is to prevent the rise of youth overdoses. In 2023, two students died of fentanyl overdoses in Arlington.
During the "Take a Stand: Prevent Overdoses Among Our Youth," event at Kenmore Middle School, a senior at Wakefield High School was one of many who shared her own experience with the dangerous drugs.
Arlington jail grapples with safety risks due to persistent staff shortages
ARLnow - January 18, 2024
The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office is facing mounting pressure from personnel, inmates and the NAACP to address worsening conditions at the county jail.
Current and former deputies, along with a former inmate, claim that chronic staffing shortages inside the jail have led to inmates being confined to their cells for up to 21 hours daily, deputies not following proper protocols, the mismanagement of medication dosages and inmates not being allowed to take showers.
A jail-based staff-led anonymous survey obtained by ARLnow chalks up the retention challenges to issues with leadership, salary, and work conditions, particularly mandatory overtime.
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