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To designate the 2800 block of P Street in honor of the late Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor. (7th District)
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WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor, who passed away at the age of 95 on February 4, 2012, had a long and distinguished career as a pastor, community leader, and pioneer in the fight for civil rights ; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor graduated from Armstrong High School in 1936 and received four degrees from Virginia Union University; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor served as pastor of the Fourth Baptist Church, the first Black Baptist church in the Church Hill community and a symbol of Black religious strength, from 1952 to 1986; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, a notable part of Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor's religious ministry and community leadership involved bridge-building between Black and White churches, including organizing one of the first interracial services held with a White church in the late 1950s, followed by many other ecumenical movements over the years, for which he received the Brotherhood Award by the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor addressed racial inequities and issues by mediating in 1960 on behalf of Black Virginia Union University students with representatives of downtown Richmond stores who refused them service, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holding an interracial and interdenominational prayer service on the state capitol steps upon Dr. King's assassination, and speaking frequently on the ethics and morality of racial discrimination before the City Council of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, Reverend Dr. Robert L. Taylor's religious and community leaders...
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