Days before the planned start of the 2025 General Assembly, the Virginia NAACP outlined its legislative priorities for the session during a virtual press conference Monday afternoon.

“Virginia cannot truly progress until all Virginians have equal and equitable access,” Virginia NAACP President Cozy Bailey said, “and this can only be done by keeping Black people at the top of every agenda.”

Addressing inequality and inequity was a recurring theme among the priorities outlined by Virginia NAACP leaders, including Gaylene Kanoyton, Tracey Hardney-Scott, and Valerie Slater.

The leaders pledged to support bills targeting climate racism, inequities in health care, disparities in transit and housing and barriers to economic empowerment and voting rights.

The Virginia NAACP supports three proposed constitutional amendments: restoring rights for the formerly incarcerated, protecting reproductive freedom, and ensuring marriage equality.

“The Virginia NAACP remains committed to advancing justice and equity across all sectors,” Virginia NAACP Vice President and Political Action Chair Gaylene Kanoyton said, “ensuring that the voices of marginalized communities are heard and prioritized in the legislative process.”

When it came to specific policy areas, Virginia NAACP leaders were committed to ensuring diversity, equity and inclusivity in schools funded, teachers hired and the curriculum taught. Protecting students’ rights and freedom of speech on campus was emphasized. 

Women’s health is a major part of the groups’ priorities for health care, with a focus on bills reducing maternal mortality rates, particularly for Black women, featured alongside legislation on expanded access to Medicaid and mental health services.

The association’s priorities for environment and climate justice run the gamut from policies focused on clean air, land and water, and investing in clean energy and climate adaptation to food justice and reaching zero carbon emissions and waste management.

“It is undeniable that Black communities, low resource neighborhoods and communities of color continue to bear the brunt of environmental and climate challenges,” Environmental Climate Justice Chair Karen Campblin said. “This is not just an environmental and climate issue, it is a matter of justice.”

Race and justice priorities include gun violence prevention, sealing youth criminal records, police accountability, raising the minimum age for prosecution, ending private prisons and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

Bills focused on affordable housing, tenant rights, homelessness prevention will also be supported by the association this session.

In addition to these priorities, VA NAACP will monitor other policies and legislation during the session, including bills limiting early voting periods, the use of generative artificial intelligence in the criminal justice system and the dilution of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Officials criticized Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s plans to eliminate the state car tax, which Bailey called “eye candy,” and to allocate $25 million for partnerships between historically Black colleges and state-owned lab schools.

“Although that sounds great, it is not fair to our Virginia families to put a Band-Aid on early childhood education,” Kanoyton said. “We need to have a long-term plan to keep lab schools at HBCUs, not just a short-term plan.”

While the impact of water issues in Richmond delayed the start of the General Assembly, Virginia NAACP officials made clear their advocacy extends beyond the halls of the State Capitol and will take whatever form necessary to ensure their goals for a fairer and more just society.

“We work within a system that has not always served Black Americans well to improve that system for current and future generations,” Bailey said. “We will not rest until equity is achieved and discrimination is eliminated.”