After a hearty breakfast Monday morning at River Club Church, Spotsylvania County NAACP President Moe Petway urged attendees during a ceremony honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. not to fall asleep.
“I want you to pay attention to what is going on,” Petway said, as part of his 30-minute speech addressing numerous challenges for Black people nationally and locally.
He said while the day is meant to honor “a man whose vision, courage and unwavering commitment to justice has left an indelible mark on our world,” it is also imperative that those invested in civil rights keep King’s message alive through activism.
He asked attendees to imagine they were on the track, and the baton was passed to them, or they were standing in the middle of a boxing ring, and officials had just rung the bell.
“The baton has been passed. The bell has been rung in society,” Petway said. “We can’t just sit back … Everything ain’t going to be all right.”
Petway named a litany of issues that he believes require action. He quoted King’s speech called “The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness,” in which the civil rights icon said Black people must assume responsibility if first-class citizenship is to become a reality in the U.S.
“The Negro must not be victimized with the delusion of thinking that others should be more concerned than himself about his citizenship rights,” King said in the speech. “Neither the white liberal nor the federal government will pass out the Negroes’ rights on a silver platter.”
Petway then implored faith leaders, community leaders, fraternities, sororities, and other like-minded people to come together and take action to address issues. He said the most civil rights accomplishments were achieved through resistance and struggle.
The Rev. Stevenson Reed, pastor of First New Hope Baptist Church in Spotsylvania, encouraged those in attendance to lean on their faith.
“God, you didn’t bring us this far to leave us,” Reed said … “Right now, we know that dreams have not all been fulfilled. There was brokenness in the land in 2025, but God, you brought us over in 2026. God, you have been a bridge over troubled waters. You have a way, God, of being a heavy load bearer. God, you have a way of being hope in the times of hopelessness.”
Petway highlighted several changes made by the federal government in the past year that should concern minorities. He mentioned the termination of federally funded Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies and programs, a comment by U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that saying diversity is the country’s strength is “the single dumbest phrase in military history.” Petway also highlighted Virginia Military Institute’s Board of Visitors not renewing the contract of the school’s first Black superintendent, Cedric T. Wins, and the removal of any articles posted on federal government websites that were specifically focused on minorities.
“There’s something going on in America that God has brought us out of, and it seems like we’re trying to go back,” Petway said.
Later, Petway discussed an effort in Louisiana to eliminate the state’s newly created second majority-Black congressional district.
Locally, he focused on the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors voting against a motion to nominate its first-ever Black member, Deborah Frazier, to serve as vice chair. Spotsylvania supervisors said that decision had nothing to do with race but was instead about Frazier’s position as the chief academic officer for the county’s school division potentially causing a conflict of interest.
Petway urged attendees to make sure they head to the polls during elections, citing statistics showing 47% of registered voters in the county did not participate in the most recent election.
“One local candidate lost his election by 16 votes,” Petway said of Baron Braswell, who Chris Yakabouski defeated in the Battlefield District Board of Supervisors race.
Across town at the Fredericksburg Convention Center, the Fredericksburg Branch NAACP also held a prayer breakfast. The Fredericksburg event featured a keynote speech from Rev. Keenan Thomas as well as remarks from Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine. Letitia Bumbrey and Alex Pendelton led an audience sing-along of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Following the breakfasts, the Spotsylvania NAACP and other community members participated in a march across the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge in Fredericksburg. One marcher carried a sign telling the U.S. Congress to “grow a spine” and stand up to the executive branch. Other signs encouraged affordable housing and gun control.
