Mattie Palmore was honored for more than 30 years of community service and leadership at the annual Gum Springs Community Day and Juneteenth Celebration Saturday by county and state officials, the Gum Springs Advisory Council, and the New Gum Springs Civic Association. Gum Springs is the oldest African American community in Fairfax County, founded in 1833, by West Ford who had been enslaved by the Washington family. 

Although not a native of Gum Springs, Palmore is the unofficial matriarch of the community — the person people turn to for help and wise counsel. She is also an unrelenting advocate and largely responsible for bringing a domestic violence shelter to Mount Vernon District.

State Del. Paul Krizek presented Palmore with a General Assembly resolution “commending her for more than three decades of hard work” and expressing “admiration for her achievements in support of fellow community members.”  

Mattie Palmore (seated) thanks supporters after being presented with a General Assembly resolution honoring her service to the community. From left, Delayni Rose, Palmore’s granddaughter; Vince Carter, president of the New Gum Springs Civic Association; Ayannah Palmore Arrington, Palmore’s daughter (white hat); D.R. Bacife (holding resolution) Palmore’s son; and Franconia Supervisor Rodney Lusk (striped tie). Palmore’s fans record the event.

 

Palmore was also presented with a community service award by Gum Springs Community Service Advisory Board president Debra Sanders Graves and a medallion by New Gum Springs Civic Association president Vince Carter. 

Franconia Supervisor Rodney Lusk, Mount Vernon School Board Member Mateo Dunn, and County Equity Officer Karla Bruce all spoke with warmth of Palmore’s work with women, especially domestic violence survivors, in her Gum Springs community and beyond.  

“Mattie Palmore has touched countless lives through her leadership, generosity, compassionate advocacy, and unfailing commitment to service,” the resolution read. That was apparent by the outpouring of gratitude from officials and community members at a brief mid-afternoon ceremony at Martin Luther King Park Saturday. 

Palmore, 77, was seated in her wheelchair in front of the stage. After the resolution was read, admirers carrying red roses lined up to praise her courage, generosity and tenacity before adding their rose to a bouquet at her feet. The ceremony was orchestrated by L. Joyce Brown, president of Christians in Action for Positive African American Males Corporation in collaboration with former Mount Vernon School Board member Karen Corbett Sanders and Carter.

Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck and Sen. Scott Surovell were out of town but sent their regards, as did many others according to Palmore.

Palmore thanked the assembly with characteristic quiet humility, flanked by her daughter, Pryannah Palmore Arrington, and eldest son, D.R. Bacife, who have helped her through repeated  bouts of respiratory illness over the past few years. 

Asked her feelings about the ceremony later, Palmore said, “I love my community and I enjoy helping other people. And that’s it.”

A native of Washington D.C., Palmore came to this area over 40 years ago. Professionally, she served as a Fairfax County magistrate and as director of the homeless transition program at Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, according to the resolution.  

She was known for her longtime personal volunteer work to coordinate with county services, the judicial system, nonprofits, and businesses to provide services to people in need. 

From her home at Spring Garden Apartments, she conducted unofficial “case work” by contacting whomever it took — the sheriff, supervisor, housing director, ministers — to get assistance for the many people who called her for help.

She is probably best known locally for co-founding the Mount Vernon Women’s Group, a network for women suffering from domestic abuse, and working with others to bring a domestic shelter to the Mount Vernon area. Palmore spoke publicly about escaping her own domestic abuse and her story inspired others.

Palmore represents Mount Vernon District on the Community Services Board. She serves on the New Gum Springs Community Association executive committee, the steering committee of the South County Task Force, and as co-chair of the Fairfax NAACP Women’s Committee. She served on the statewide Josiah H. Beeman commission, which studied changes to Virginia’s mental health system.

In 2006, she received the “Women We Admire Award” from Black Women United for Action, in 2011, the Joe Adinaro Award, and in 2012, the Community Champions Award from Molina Healthcare. She was named Lady Fairfax for the Mount Vernon District by Supervisor Dan Storck in 2017.