In 1915, Falls Church ordered residential segregation that would have forced many African-American homeowners to move. The Colored Citizens Protective League filed a lawsuit to prevent enforcement of the ordinance and joined the N.A.A.C.P., becoming its first rural branch in the country. The ordinance was never enforced and was rescinded in 1917. The Falls Church branch helped expand the N.A.A.C.P. into rural Virginia, setting a precedent for the South. Although crosses were burned and citizens were intimidated, the people of Tinner Hill persevered through the rest of the century and successfully fought many battles against segregation.
