Nathaniel Lee Hawthorne (1923-1975)

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.