Bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-7th District) to rename a Fredericksburg post office after the late Gladys P. Todd, a prominent leader in the Fredericksburg civil rights movement, was passed unanimously Wednesday by the House of Representatives.
Todd was a revered schoolteacher and community organizer who was a fixture in the city’s civil rights movement — particularly in advancing causes related to Black youth and teens. She was also known for her work as a voting rights advocate and is often cited as an instrumental force in the election of the Rev. Lawrence Davies, Fredericksburg’s first Black mayor.
“When Gladys Todd was growing up in Fredericksburg, there was no secondary school for Black people. My grandmother had to go to boarding school for high school in Petersburg because there was no education for us in this town beyond eighth grade,” said Juno L. Pitchford, Todd’s grandson. “And to now know there will be a building with her name on it in this same town is a testament to her determination and relentlessness to always fight for what she believed to be right. My family and I want to thank Congresswoman Spanberger and all of those other people who worked alongside my grandmother to make things better for us.”
The Gladys P. Todd Post Office will be located at 1285 Emancipation Highway. The legislation to honor Todd is co-sponsored by all 11 members of the Virginia delegation.
Ahead of the legislation’s passage, Spanberger spoke on the House floor to honor Todd’s life.
“Renaming this post office in her honor is a small but meaningful way to guarantee that her contributions are remembered for generations and that her work is present far into the future,” Spanberger said.
