The Fairfax County NAACP has been named the top branch in the country by the NAACP national organization. The chapter was scheduled to receive the Thalheimer Award, given annually to the chapter with the most outstanding achievements, at this week’s NAACP’s Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Kofi Annan, president of the Fairfax branch, announced the award last week. In applying for the award, the chapter cited the successful two-year “Change the Name” campaign that convinced the Fairfax County School Board to change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School, named for a pro-slavery Confederate general. In July 2017, the school board voted that the name of J.E.B. Stuart had to go and later in the year support coalesced around the name Justice High School. The school is being revamped this summer and will officially open with its new name next month.

In addition, the branch was cited for its public forums on immigration, discriminatory hiring practices in Fairfax County Public Schools, criminal justice reform initiatives, the School to Prison pipeline issue, and a candidate forum for state elections.