Article Text

Stacey Hardy-Chandler made Fairfax City history in November when voters elected her as the first Black woman to serve on the City Council. Before she took the oath of office Dec. 20, city leaders and residents gathered in Council chambers to recognize the milestone and the generations who helped make it possible.

Mayor Catherine Read placed the election in a broader historical context, noting Virginia’s more than 400-year history and the long struggle of women and Black residents to gain both voting rights and representation in public office.

Read recognized Linneall Naylor, Connie Smith, Jenee Lindner and Rondia Prescott of the Jermantown Cemetery Preservation Society. More than 100 enslaved and free African Americans are buried in the city’s Jermantown Cemetery.

Naylor, Lindner and Prescott also joined Etta Willson and Rita Colbert in writing “Black Communities of Fairfax: A History.” Read praised their work documenting the Black community’s contributions to Fairfax.

A 56-year path back to the Council

Fairfax elected its first Black councilmember, Henry A. Minor, in 1968. But his role in city history had largely faded from public memory until Anthony Amos, another newly elected Black councilmember, began asking about him.

Former Councilmember Janice Miller provided Minor’s name, prompting the city’s Historic Resources staff to research his life. Minor served only part of his term before moving beyond the city limits. A newspaper headline announcing his victory read, “First Negro Elected in Fairfax City.”

Fifty-six years later, Hardy-Chandler and Amos became the first two Black residents elected together to Fairfax’s governing body.

Read said she was struck by the connection between their elections and the people commemorated at a Dec. 14 wreath-laying ceremony at Jermantown Cemetery. Historical markers there now describe those who lived, worked and contributed to the community before being laid to rest in the city.

To Read, the elections of Amos and Hardy-Chandler represented the realization of possibilities earlier generations could only envision.

The Rev. Jeffery Johnson Sr., pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, called the occasion a monumental moment in Fairfax history. Drawing a parallel to Rosa Parks’ refusal to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, 69 years earlier, he said Fairfax voters had answered “yes” when given the opportunity to add two Black residents to the Council.

Johnson said the aim of Black Americans has been participation and inclusion in a nation committed to equality. He also recounted the history of Mount Calvary, founded in May 1870 by recently emancipated residents who raised money to build a place of worship. The church was preparing to celebrate its 155th anniversary the following year.

Naylor said Minor descended from free people of color and is connected through DNA to her, Prescott and Smith. His wife is buried at Jermantown Cemetery. Naylor said Minor’s family members represented his efforts to make Fairfax a better home for everyone, then presented Hardy-Chandler with a copy of “Black Communities of Fairfax: A History.”

Local and federal leaders mark the milestone

Ronell Chatmon attended on behalf of U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat whose 11th District includes Fairfax City. Connolly was unable to attend.

Read said she and Connolly had supported Hardy-Chandler’s campaign. Read had personally encouraged her to run because she believed Hardy-Chandler possessed the commitment, temperament and passion needed to serve the city.

Chatmon noted Connolly’s background in local government as Providence District supervisor and chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. That experience, he said, helped build partnerships and direct public resources toward projects that have made the area a desirable place to live.

He congratulated Hardy-Chandler on Connolly’s behalf and pledged to continue pursuing federal funding for state and local projects during her four-year term.

Read also recognized Fairfax resident Amini Bonane, who ran for Council in 2024 alongside Amos and Hardy-Chandler. It was the first time three Black candidates had sought Council seats in the city during the same election.

Representation matters, Read said, because residents want to see themselves reflected in those making decisions on their behalf.

Hardy-Chandler pledges to move Fairfax forward

City Clerk Melissa Shinaberry administered the oath of office before Hardy-Chandler addressed the audience.

She said “Forward Together” came to mind immediately as her campaign slogan because she naturally looks ahead. Her husband, however, taught her that people traveling an unfamiliar path should occasionally stop and look behind them.

That made the discussion of Fairfax’s history and Minor’s service especially meaningful. Although Minor never knew her, Hardy-Chandler said she regarded him as a trailblazer on the path she now follows.

She thanked the many people who guided her toward public office, including members of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, one of the first places she encountered after arriving in Fairfax because her sorority met there.

Hardy-Chandler recalled the precise moment Read invited her to seek office: a text message sent at 8:35 a.m. on May 12, 2024. There had been a time, she said, when receiving a message from a mayor would have seemed unimaginable.

She described the invitation as a small miracle and the Council position as a new form of service. Conversations with longtime residents and newcomers had strengthened her enthusiasm for Fairfax’s future.

Hardy-Chandler said she looked forward to joining four other new councilmembers, one returning member and the mayor. She hoped the Council would model the respect, cooperation and collegiality it wanted to foster throughout the city.

Beyond completing the work voters elected her to do, Hardy-Chandler said she wanted more residents to see themselves represented on the Council and city commissions. She pledged to help create places where they could participate, while learning, listening and leading alongside her colleagues.

After the ceremony, Hardy-Chandler described herself as excited, honored and ready to serve. She also reflected on her mother, who died 20 years earlier.

The youngest of six children, Hardy-Chandler said her mother would have been amazed by the opportunity but had helped prepare her for it through everything she invested in her.

She credited relatives, teachers, supervisors and others who offered guidance—including difficult truths she needed to hear. Their support, she said, taught her that life’s possibilities can exceed anything a person might plan.