Virginia public schools and the struggle for integration
Brittany Jones
Section: Student Life
Who doesn't remember their first day of school? For some of us, it was full of anticipation. You couldn't wait to wear your new school clothes or show off your super cool lunch box. For others, the day was full of tears at the realization that your mom wouldn't be attending kindergarten with you, and your teachers actually expected you to nap during nap time.
Now imagine all of those memories never actually happened because you were denied the right to even attend school.
Nowadays, we often take our education for granted. How quickly we forget that less than fifty years ago many students wouldn't have been able to attend schools like we know them today. Something as unimportant as the color of your skin decided what school you would go to and what type of education you would receive.
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in their landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision. This was after years of legal segregation on the basis of separate but equal. In many cases, things were anything but. This was evident in the public school system where black schools received less funding, had older textbooks and were overcrowded. The Brown decision was supposed to solve those problems, but it was met with resistance and often new problems were created.
While many states fought against the integration of schools, few fought harder than Virginia. In Virginia a policy known as "massive resistance" was declared by Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Sr. He, along with other Virginian politicians and leaders, decided that school integration had to be prevented. Byrd was head of a powerful organization that controlled Virginia from the 1920s until the late 1960s. This control allowed the Virginia General Assembly to pass "massive resistance" laws in 1956. These laws didn't allow any integrated schools to receive state funds. It also established a three member Pupil Placement Board that decided what school a student would be placed in, but many of those decisions were based solely on race. Also, tuition grants were given to white parents so their children could attend all white private schools.
Now imagine all of those memories never actually happened because you were denied the right to even attend school.
Nowadays, we often take our education for granted. How quickly we forget that less than fifty years ago many students wouldn't have been able to attend schools like we know them today. Something as unimportant as the color of your skin decided what school you would go to and what type of education you would receive.
In 1954, the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in their landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision. This was after years of legal segregation on the basis of separate but equal. In many cases, things were anything but. This was evident in the public school system where black schools received less funding, had older textbooks and were overcrowded. The Brown decision was supposed to solve those problems, but it was met with resistance and often new problems were created.
While many states fought against the integration of schools, few fought harder than Virginia. In Virginia a policy known as "massive resistance" was declared by Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Sr. He, along with other Virginian politicians and leaders, decided that school integration had to be prevented. Byrd was head of a powerful organization that controlled Virginia from the 1920s until the late 1960s. This control allowed the Virginia General Assembly to pass "massive resistance" laws in 1956. These laws didn't allow any integrated schools to receive state funds. It also established a three member Pupil Placement Board that decided what school a student would be placed in, but many of those decisions were based solely on race. Also, tuition grants were given to white parents so their children could attend all white private schools.
August 30th
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