SR 188 — Commemorating the life and legacy of Willis Augustus Hodges.

SESSION INTRODUCEDENROLLED 23107330DSENATE IRESOLUTION SENAOfferedNO. February 23, 2023 N Commemorating the life and legacy of Willis Augustus Hodges.

––––––––––188 TE Patron––RouseCommemorating Rthe ––––––––––life Oand WHEREAS,legacy of Willis Augustus HodgesHodges. was born a free Black man in Blackwater, now part of Virginia Beach, on February 12, 1815;

andN DR forthAgreed betweento Virginiaby andthe NewSenate, YorkFebruary to24, escape2023 persecution,WHEREAS, particularlyWillis inAugustus theHodges periodwas afterborn Nata Turner'sfree RebellionBlack man in 1831Blackwater, whennow freepart Blackof familiesVirginia wereO frequentlyBeach, harassedon andFebruary arrested;12, 1815;

and L WHEREAS, althoughWillis educationHodges forgrew Blackup childrenon washis illegalfamily's atfarm thebut time,spent Willispart Hodges,of whohis hadlife taughtmoving himselfback to read and writeL usingRebellion thein Bible,1831 establishedwhen a free schoolBlack tofamilies developwere academicEfrequently opportunitiesharassed forand localarrested; Black youths;

and after Nat Turner'E WHEREAS, although education for Black children was illegal at the time, Willis Hodges, who had taught himself to read and write using the Bible, established a free school to develop academic D oppWHEREAS, Willis Hodges was also a passionate advocate for the abolition of slavery, racial Dintegration of schools, and voting rights and property rights for Black residents of Princess Anne County;

he further served the community as a minister, and he published his own newspaper, The Ram's Horn;HorWHEREAS, Willis Hodges established a town in New York called Blacksville that was used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil War, he served as a spy for the Union;

andafter WHEREAS,theS Williswar, Hodgeshe establishedrepresented aPrincess townAnne inCounty Newat Yorkthe calledVirginia BlacksvilleConstitutional thatConvention wasof used1868 as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil1 War,Reconstruction heperiod; served as a spy for the Union;

afterand the8 war,Point heComfort representedLighthouse Princessin AnneHampton; County at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868 during the Reconstruction period;

andat Pointthe Comforttime, Lighthouselighthouse inkeeper Hampton;positions were federal jobsd R administered by the United States Lighthouse Service;

atand theWHEREAS, time,Willis lighthouseHodges was subsequently appointed head keeper positionsof werethe federalCape jobsRHenry administeredLighthouse bymaintaining the Unitedlens Statesand Lighthouselantern Service;room equipment to ensure safe passage for ships in the Chesapeake, and Bay;

and 8 WHEREAS, in the late 1870s, Willis Hodges wasauthored subsequentlyan appointedautobiography headto keeperprovide ofinsights on his lifWHEREAS, Willis Hodges died on September 24, 1890, at the Capeage Henryof Lighthouse75 and is buried in 1870;New York;

innow, thattherefore, capacity,be heit livedRESOLVED atby the lighthouseSenate of Virginia, That the life and waslegacy responsibleof forWillis inspecting,Augustus cleaning,Hodges andhereby maintainingbe RESOLVED FURTHER, That the lensClerk andof lanternthe roomSenate equipmentprepare toa ensurecopy safeof passagethis resolution for shipspresentation into descendants of Willis Augustus Hodges as an expression of the ChesapeakeSenate Bay;of Virginia's admiration for his contributions to the Commonwealth.

and life and inspire fellow members of the Black community in the Commonwealth and beyond;

and on his WHEREAS, Willis Hodges died on September 24, 1890, at the age of 75 and is buried in New York;

now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That the life and legacy of Willis Augustus Hodges hereby be commemorated on the 133rd anniversary of his death;

and, be it 35 RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for 37 admiration for his contributions to the Commonwealth.

as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's 2