All are invited to our BUZZ Watch Party on Feb. 28, 7:00 pm ET, at First Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, Va., as we conclude our 4-part series featuring the Franklin County NAACP’s initiative “Raising the Shade.”Since January 2025, BUZZ has featured the nonprofit as it has shared the story of the county’s 70 African American men who fought for the Union in the Civil War in the United States Colored Troops.

Our series concludes with the culmination of the nonprofit’s work: the unveiling ceremony of a statue in downtown Rocky Mount to honor the USCT. While thousands of Confederate monuments dot the U.S., fewer than 25 exist honoring the 200,000 Black men who fought in the United States Colored Troops.

With support from Virginia Tech’s Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, funded by the Mellon Foundation, the NAACP has indeed “raised the shade” on this untold history.

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Join us on February 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM at the Pulaski Theater, located at 14 W. Main Street, Pulaski, VA 24301, for a free community screening of our upcoming documentary, Stitched Together —no RSVP required. Our film will honor the 23 brave families who stood for educational equity and examine how this history has brought our community together in unexpected ways.

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On January 18th, Join the Raising the Shade project and the MAAV team at the public unveiling of the project’s monument which memorializes the United States Colored Troops who were born in Franklin County and fought for the Union during the Civil War. Located at the First Baptist Church grounds in Rocky Mount, Virginia, the outdoor ceremony will begin at 3 pm, followed by a reception at the Harvester Performance Center just three blocks away.

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BUZZ highlights the Franklin County NAACP’s Raising the Shade community forum on May 31 that shared with hundreds of people from across the Commonwealth the history of the county’s 70 African-American men who fought for the Union during the Civil War. This event provides a “sneak peek” at the episode that airs August 27 at 7:00 pm EDT on Blue Ridge PBS.

Info at: https://buzz4good.com/event/buzz-stars-raising-the-shade/

 Join us and the 23/54 Monument Quilt at Rosenwald Felts for a digital day and art workshop.

Time TBA

Join us and the 23/54 Monument Quilt at the Glencoe Museum for a day of fun activities.

https://www.glencoemansion.org/events

Join us and the 23/54 Monument Quilt at the Wytheville Training School Cultural Center for a day of fun activities.

https://www.wythevilletrainingschool.org/upcoming-events/2025/7/19/4th-annual-street-fair

Join us in celebrating 85 years of history, community, and resilience at Green Pastures! On Sunday, June 15, 2025, from 3-6 PM, this special anniversary event will honor the legacy of Green Pastures and its significance to the region. Enjoy a lively afternoon featuring performances by local musicians and dancers, a reading of a children’s book about Green Pastures, and a demonstration of historic Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) tools in action. Guests will also have the unique opportunity to preview draft signs for the upcoming interpretive trail and provide feedback to help shape the storytelling of this treasured site.

Take a stroll through history as you tour Green Pastures, see the latest improvements to the historic picnic shelter, and experience the beauty of this beloved gathering space. Connect with friends and neighbors in a welcoming, picnic-style atmosphere while enjoying light refreshments. This event is made possible through the generous support of Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia and the Town of Clifton Forge. Whether you have cherished memories of Green Pastures or are discovering its rich history for the first time, this celebration is an opportunity to honor the past, engage with the present, and contribute to the future of this historic landmark.

Strap on your hiking boots and join MAAV at the Forest Botanicals Monument Sculpture Unveiling in Norton, Virginia. 

Come experience the unveiling of a sculpture created by the artist team of Nathan Wachacha David Bush (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and William Rogers, celebrating the relationships that Appalachian peoples have long held with forest botanicals, stretching from pre-colonization to today.  

Join the Forest Botanical Region Living Monument team for the ribbon cutting ceremony on June 7 from 11am to 5:30 pm. at the High Knob Destination Center!

Join the 23/54 Project team for a celebration honoring the twenty-three Black parents and fifty-four children who challenged racial discrimination in the NAACP’s 1947 equalization case of Corbin v. County School Board of Pulaski County, Virginia.

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Join the Raising the Shade project team for an educational forum examining the history of United States Colored Troops enlistees born in Franklin County and discuss the significance of the USCT in the context of both national and local history. The registration for the event will be available on the MAAV website soon.

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Join the Yesá:sahį Language and Sacred Places Project for the public unveiling of their monument. Attendees are asked to RSVP for the event using this link.

Monuments Across Appalachian Virginia, in collaboration with the Lifelong Learning Institute, will host a special event where participants will learn about the monument creation process and brainstorm ideas for reimagining and memorializing public spaces. Limit: 50. Location: Warm Hearth Village Center, Tall Oaks Room.

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Come celebrate Appalachian and Latino culture, music, art, dance, food and community! AppaLatine food for purchase! Free admission.

Celebrate the opening of the Forest Botanicals Storywalk Trail in Flag Rock Recreation Area!

Herbal Arts & Crafts - Live Music - Giveaways - Trail Walks - Native Plant Sale - Farming Demonstrations - Food Trucks

Online session for potential Community Project applicants to address any questions regarding MAAV initiative and the application process.

Register Here >

What stories about our region would you like to make visible? Special themes are Black history, diversity, and migration. All are welcome. Free dinner.

Photos and videos available here

What stories about our region would you like to make visible? Special themes are labor movement and land defense. All are welcome. Free dinner from Sugar Shack BBQ!

Come visit MAAV as we take over a parking spot on College Avenue for Park(ing) Day! We’ll be downtown from 10-2, creating a mountain range of your #mountainstories.

Join us at our Giles Community Forum in Pearisburg, VA on Tuesday, April 25 from 5:30-7:30pm.