Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne (1923-1975)

SN-40

Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne, civil rights leader, campaigned for racial and social justice for the people of Southside Virginia. A native of Lunenburg County and a World War II veteran, he conducted his work despite death threats and other attempts at intimidation. Operating from the “Freedom House” in Victoria, Hawthorne chaired the Lunenburg branch of the NAACP from 1965 to 1974 and was a coordinator of the Virginia Students' Civil Rights Committee. He led efforts to desegregate schools, register voters, gain equal access to restaurants and stores, and secure African American representation in local government. In 1965 he organized a voting rights march that passed along this route.

Department of Historic Resources, 2017

See a problem? Report it to HighwayMarkers@dhr.virginia.gov.

DHR could use your help! We don't have a recent image of this marker. If you have one that you'd like to submit for inclusion on this site, please send it to HighwayMarkers@dhr.virginia.gov.

References/Bibliographic Citation:

U.S. Army World War II Enlistment Records Dale Brumfield, “Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne, Virginia’s Forgotten Civil Rights Pioneer,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 18 July 2015 Virginia House of Delegates Resolution No. 72, 14 Jan. 2016 Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne to Martin Luther King Jr., 22 March 1968 Gay Weeks Neale, The Lunenburg Legacy (Lunenburg County Historical Society) Richmond Times Dispatch, 19 Nov., 24 Dec. 1965, 2 June, 1 Aug., 6 Oct. 1966, 28 Feb., 3, 6 June, 8 Nov. 1967, 23 Jan., 16 Nov. 1968, 22 March, 2 Nov. 1969, 13 June 1970, 4 March, 4 Nov. 1971, 9 April, 11 May, 2 June 1972, 13 Jan., 9 July 1973, 10 June 1975 Washington Post, 19 Dec. 1965, 16 Nov. 1966, 29 Nov. 1968 Norfolk Journal and Guide, 16 July, 3 Sept. 1966, 7 Jan. 1967, 14 Sept. 1968, 25 Sept. 1971, 26 Feb., 25 March, 20 May 1972