Charlottesville City Council marks passing of Marvin Townsend

In September 1959, twelve Black students began attending Charlottesville City Schools for the first time, ending a multiyear legal effort to force the city to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that mandated the end of segregation.

Three of the students went to Lane High School and nine of them went to what was formerly called Venable Elementary. One of the latter was Marvin Townsend.

Charlottesville City Council’s February 17 meeting began with a somber announcement.

“Marvin L. Townsend, who was 79 years old, was one of the original Charlottesville 12, passed away on February 4th,” Wade said. “[He] was one of the Trailblazers and that’s why we renamed the school Trailblazers Elementary.”

Wade said Townsend went on to serve 25 years in the Charlottesville Police Department before moving on to serve in the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s office before retiring a decade or so ago.

“Marvin at an early age was instructed by his mother to watch out for the younger kids, according to Sandra Wilt Lewis, one of the younger classmates,” Wade said. ”So he’s always kind of had that role of being a caretaker.”

City Councilor Lloyd Snook remembered Townsend as a community police officer.

“He lived in the community that he policed,” Snook said. “He lived down in 10th and Page for many years. That’s the community he worked in. People knew him, people trusted him. He was really the epitome of the kind of police officer and the kind of policing we want to foster in Charlottesville.”

A memorial service was held in Palmyra on February 20. For more information, visit the Charlottesville Police Department’s Facebook page.

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