King Salim Khalfani, a civil rights activist who served as executive director of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP from 1998 to 2014, died Monday, Feb. 9. He was 66.

“Richmond lost a titan today,” Richmond Branch NAACP President James “JJ” Minor said in a statement. “His passion and dedication to everything he did was an inspiration. A true soldier that was always on the front line.” 

Khalfani was born on April 24, 1959, in Cleveland, Ohio, as Edward Duane Hudson to Edward and Marva B. Hudson. A graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Cleveland and Virginia Union University, his activist work began with the Richmond Peace Education Center and Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. 

Khalfani joined the state NAACP in 1990 as director of branch and field activities, lobbying for the organization at the General Assembly while also hosting the public access television program “African Perspective” for seven years. 

He built a reputation for confronting society’s ills and holding the powerful accountable, pressing the NAACP’s agenda on housing equality, education and criminal justice. 

“He was a warrior,” said former Richmond City Council member Sa’ad El-Amin, who worked with Khalfani for years. “He was an advocate for all of the fundamental things that people of African descent needed.” 

This approach secured Khalfani many victories, such as the closure of the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center in 2012 after railing against the center’s poor conditions. 

“Lives are not measured by the riches we accrue, but by the people on this planet whom we have helped,” Richmond Free Press founder Ray Boone Sr. said in a 2014 editorial on Khalfani’s exit from the NAACP. “For King Salim Khalfani that list is a long one. And as he is still a young 54, we know his work is not done.” 

Khalfani’s local and state activism continued long after he left the NAACP, serving as director of the Virginia Education Association’s UniServ program in Portsmouth and Hampton Roads and as criminal justice lead for the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. He also was the founder of Americans Resisting Minority and Ethnic Discrimination. 

Khalfani first met Chelsea Higgs Wise, co-founder of Marijuana Justice for Virginia, while she was in high school. They occasionally crossed paths over the years while advocating on local issues. Wise said Khalfani was supportive of young people, whether explaining the NAACP’s work or joining Richmond youth during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. 

“I have some incredibly fond memories of him,” Wise said. “He made me feel really proud for the work that I’ve been able to do.” 

Bernice Travers of Living the Dream Inc. remembers Khalfani’s passion and sincerity, including when they helped build and lead a coalition of Black Virginia leaders in the 1990s to address key community issues with Gov. George Allen. 

“He felt that if we didn’t stand up, fight and join the struggle, nothing would change, and he was that change agent,” Travers said, noting she continued working with Khalfani for years afterward. 

Khalfani was as committed to his family as he was to his advocacy. A skilled student-athlete and avid sports fan, he was devoted to his children, celebrated his family’s roots in Birmingham, Alabama, and remained a cherished brother to his sister, Kristen Griffin, from childhood to his final year. 

“My brother did great things,” Griffin said, her voice choked with emotion. “But to me, he was my confidant, my protector and my friend. I don’t know how to live on this earth without him.” 

Khalfani was preceded in death by his mother and his brother, Michael. He is survived by his father and sister; two children, Queen Nzinga Khalfani and Suten Ramessu Khalfani; niece Zoe Asanti Griffin, nephew William Burks Hudson and many friends. 

Funeral arrangements were pending at the time of publication. 

King Salim Khalfani talks with Richmond Free Press founder and publisher Raymond H. Boone at the newspaper’s offices on April 4, 2014.