Tinner Hill
Encyclopedia
Tinner Hill is an historic area of Falls Church, Virginia
, named after Charles and Mary Tinner, an African-American couple who bought land there in the late 19th century.
The first rural branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
in the United States was inaugurated at a house in Tinner Hill by Joseph Tinner and Edwin Bancroft Henderson
in 1918.
. Citizens from the African-American community filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking to block the ordinance, and successfully prevented the town council from implementing the law. In 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court case of Buchanan vs. Worley, nullified state laws making residential segregation legal.
Dr. Henderson requested a charter for a local branch of the NAACP and was allowed to operate a standing committee
, under the authority of the NAACP. In 1918, a charter was granted to which allowed the CCPL to form the Falls Church and Vicinity NAACP. Tinner became the first president, and Henderson became the secretary.
Over the next 50 years the group spearheaded civil rights
activities that established precedents for the nation: fighting for public utilities, a larger elementary school
, and an effective postal service.
) honors the men and women of Tinner Hill who formed the first rural branch of the NAACP. The archway design was executed by local artist and stonemason John Ballou.
, who made his home in Northern Virginia.
Falls Church, Virginia
The City of Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The city population was 12,332 in 2010, up from 10,377 in 2000. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Anglican parish, Falls Church gained township status within...
, named after Charles and Mary Tinner, an African-American couple who bought land there in the late 19th century.
The first rural branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
in the United States was inaugurated at a house in Tinner Hill by Joseph Tinner and Edwin Bancroft Henderson
Edwin Henderson
Edwin B. Henderson , widely recognized as the "Grandfather of Black Basketball," introduced basketball in Washington, D.C. in 1904 to African Americans on a wide scale, organized basis...
in 1918.
History of NAACP at Tinner Hill
Joseph Tinner and Dr. Edwin B. Henderson organized the Colored Citizens Protective League (CCPL) in 1915, in response to a local law mandating residential segregationSegregation
Segregation or segregate refers to setting apart or separating things or people and may refer to:* Particle segregation* Segregation in materials* Magnetic-activated cell sorting* Segregate * Mendel's law of segregation...
. Citizens from the African-American community filed a lawsuit against the city, seeking to block the ordinance, and successfully prevented the town council from implementing the law. In 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court case of Buchanan vs. Worley, nullified state laws making residential segregation legal.
Dr. Henderson requested a charter for a local branch of the NAACP and was allowed to operate a standing committee
Standing Committee
In the United States Congress, standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. . Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for...
, under the authority of the NAACP. In 1918, a charter was granted to which allowed the CCPL to form the Falls Church and Vicinity NAACP. Tinner became the first president, and Henderson became the secretary.
Over the next 50 years the group spearheaded civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activities that established precedents for the nation: fighting for public utilities, a larger elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
, and an effective postal service.
NAACP memorial
Erected by the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation in 1999, a fifteen-foot monument constructed of pink granite (trondhjemiteTrondhjemite
Trondhjemite is a leucocratic intrusive igneous rock. It is a variety of tonalite in which the plagioclase is mostly in the form of oligoclase. Trondhjemites are sometimes known as plagiogranites....
) honors the men and women of Tinner Hill who formed the first rural branch of the NAACP. The archway design was executed by local artist and stonemason John Ballou.
Tinner Blues Festival
The Annual Tinner Blues Festival takes place the second Saturday of June in Cherry Hill Park in the City of Falls Church. Many national and area blues musicians play at the event which began in 1993. It is a tribute to the memory of Piedmont Blues guitarist/singer John JacksonJohn Jackson (blues musician)
John Jackson was an American Piedmont blues musician; his music did not become primary until his accidental "discovery" by folklorist Chuck Perdue in the 1960s...
, who made his home in Northern Virginia.