Charlottesville Mayor Satyendra Huja announced in a Wednesday afternoon ceremony that the City of Charlottesville has named a portion of Fifth Street Southwest “George R. Ferguson Way.” Ferguson was a local business owner and former president of the Charlottesville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who successfully worked to integrate the University hospital and local schools.
At the ceremony, Huja characterized Ferguson as “a community citizen we could be proud of.” “He fought tirelessly for equal rights for African-American citizens in Charlottesville,” Huja added.
Ferguson began his fight for equal rights with his efforts to desegregate the University hospital, said Bandele Ferguson McQueen, Ferguson’s grandson. Ferguson, who worked as a mortician, witnessed firsthand a disparity in the quality of care black patients received.
“African Americans could only be served in the basement of the Medical Center,” McQueen said. He said his grandfather got involved in desegregation efforts when “going to pick up bodies, just being around the Medical Center and hearing anecdotal stories from different citizens around the city.”
McQueen, a 1993 graduate of the College, told the crowd: “The fight for equality was part of my grandfather’s passion.”
Ferguson was born in 1911 and grew up in “a clearly divisive and segregated Charlottesville,” McQueen said. Ferguson nonetheless maintained a positive attitude and worked to improve his situation and the lives of those around him.
“Until his last days … if I needed a smile I would call my grandfather,” McQueen said.
Ferguson involved his entire family in his effort to integrate local schools. His daughter was one of the so-called Charlottesville 12 who integrated Charlottesville public schools, former neighbor and friend George Ford said.
The Charlottesville community made many of Ferguson’s achievements possible. “While it was the black community who was fighting the fight … this recognition wouldn’t happen without the community embracing him,” McQueen said.
Andrew D’Amato and Joseph Liss contributed to this report.
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