The Lynchburg chapter of the NAACP has organized a town hall to address community concerns after neighbors along two Hill City streets awoke to racist flyers outside their houses on Christmas Eve.
Reached by phone Thursday, Brenda Farmer, the chapter’s president, called the flyers “despicable,” and said the Lynchburg NAACP “will not tolerate that.”
WDBJ-7 reported more than a dozen community members on Cabell Street and other parts of Lynchburg had found flyers on their porches and cars early Christmas Eve morning — they appeared to be copies of historical advertisements for the sale of enslaved people and offering a reward for their capture.
The Lynchburg Police Department issued a release on its public Facebook page on Dec. 24, saying LPD was investigating “suspicious activity” that had occurred overnight.
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“On Dec. 24, 2023 at 9:30 a.m., officers responded to the 3800 and 3900 blocks of Peakland Pl., and later to the 1000 block of Cabell St. in reference to citizens discovering racially charged literature being left on their property. The flyers did not contain any threats,” LPD said.
The department requested anyone living in the areas with security, doorbell or other video footage of a suspicious person that night between the hours of midnight through about 3 a.m. to save the footage.
LPD asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective Davis at (434) 455-6166 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 798-5900. An anonymous tip can be entered online at http://p3tips.com or by using the P3 app on a mobile device.
LPD Police Communications Manager Kylie Kidd did not have any additional information to share about the investigation as of a Dec. 27 email inquiry from The News & Advance, and said any updates in the case will be issued as an update to the original news release.
Farmer expressed disgust and anger at the content of the flyers, which she said doesn’t belong in the 21st century.
“I’m not going back, I’m marching forward,” Farmer said.
In a statement Friday, she added, “We want the community to know we will not tolerate this behavior.”
“We have to embrace each other in love and not bigotry.”
The town hall meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Lynchburg Community Action Group building, 1010 Main Street.
Emma Martin, (434) 385-5556