Little River United Church of Christ

Little River United Church of Christ

1955 – Present

In 1955, Congregational Church members met to establish a church in Northern Virginia where all races could worship. They met in the Annandale Elementary School, openly defying the Virginia Law that required segregated seating in public assemblies. The Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties demanded that the congregation not be allowed to meet in the school. The congregation began looking for property where they could build a church. Twice the sale of property was canceled when the owners realized that the church membership was interracial. Delegate Omer Hirst worked with the church members and relocated the church to its current address. The church was named Little River United Church of Christ. Members realized the irony that the church property was once owned by an enslaver, William Gooding.

8410 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA

Mason

Source: Narrative about the origin of the church written by the first pastor Hubert Beckwith [12/14/1996], from the Church Archives
The Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties, a grassroots political organization created in Petersburg in October 1954, was dedicated to preserving strict racial segregation in Virginia’s public schools. A group of prominent Southside leaders formed the group following Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the U.S. Supreme Court decision, handed down on May 17, 1954, that mandated the desegregation of public schools.