In 1954, a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for equal rights in education. This decision came on the heels of several landmark events, such as Thurgood Marshall’s argument for school integration in front of the Supreme Court some ten years before. With the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the justices hoped to level the educational playing field by allowing black students to begin attending the same schools as white students.
The new policy was controversial and school districts had trouble adjusting. While some made adjustments within five years, others took 10, 15 years, and there are some who would suggest that segregation still exists at some level today. In fact, there is the basis for an argument that the policy may not have been reverted, but the numbers suggest that our students are being separated yet again. Therein lies the irony. For the sake of this article, the concentration will deal with one system in Hampton Roads that fought the landmark decision with great resistance - the city of Norfolk.
As would be expected, most of the changes in policy occurred between 1953 and 1960. In spite of its historical context, the policy does work as a good case study to show how a problematic policy gets implemented. In Norfolk, the integration issue started before 1954 as an all-white parochial school, Blessed Sacrament, enrolled a black student in 1953, opening up the idea that integration was possible. Most of the opposition to Brown v. Board of Education came in the form of political action. Some acts, such as the “cool heads” approach and formation of a 32-member panel to discuss the effects of Brown v. Board of Education seemed sensible. Others, such as the declaration of Sen. Harry Flood Byrd to stop integration plans, was based more on emotion meant to rile up his political base.
In Norfolk, resistance continued. The 1955 Brown II ruling placing policy implementation with the district courts caused the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA) to begin redistricting neighborhoods in the hopes of keeping students separated, although now by neighborhood. But, by separating the black and white neighborhoods as districts, the effect was the same. Even after 233 black citizens signed a petition requesting that the Norfolk school board act in “good faith compliance,” the resistance continued. In spite of Governor Stanley’s claim that the state was acting in a righteous manner, behind the scenes, tempers were flaring. In early 1956, Sen. Byrd introduced the term “massive resistance” and introduced a set of laws designed to prevent desegregation. A month later 101 southern politicians signed the “Southern Manifesto,” condemning the Supreme Court for interfering with states rights. Two months later, the NAACP filed suit against the Norfolk school board to end segregation. This case would be decided and appealed several times. Three similar suits followed, one in Newport News. With the stir caused by the Rosa Parks incident in Alabama, the movement found its way to the forefront of the public eye, and by the end of 1956, the Virginia General Assembly convened for a hearing on public school segregation, at which notable black leaders from the NAACP were given the opportunity to be herd in a public forum. However, two weeks later, through the Pupil Placement Act, the General Assembly ordered all schools with black and white students attending to be closed.
The first half of 1957 was left to the court system. Federal judge Walter Hoffman rendered an opinion on two separate, but related cases - Beckett v. School Board of the City of Norfolk and Adkins v. School Board of the City of Newport News. In both cases, Judge Hoffman declared the Pupil Placement Act to be unconstitutional and ordered integration. Later in 1957, the “Little Rock 9” began school in Arkansas and the ball was rolling.
But the ball threatened to stop once and for all as the forces collided in the hardest possible way in 1958. Virginia had elected a new governor, J. Lindsay Almond, who rode the resistance wave into office. In spite of Judge Hoffman’s ruling that every application from a black student be handled fairly and promptly, the powers that be in Norfolk were not willing to give up. In 1958, they changed the rules. Their claim was that each student application to a school would be handled by the student’s proximity to the school, scholastic aptitude, availability of seats, and character of the student. Then, the School Board proceeded to reject all 151 applications from black students desiring to go to white schools. Hoffman ordered a review, reminding the members of the Board of their legal obligations. The Board took a week to ponder its options, then went back to work and found 17 students worthy of entrance. However, they requested that the 17 students be denied admission until September 1959. This request was denied; in fact, the beginning of school in Norfolk was delayed two weeks, to September 22, in order to allow the black students in.
On September 27th, Gov. Almond took over control of the Norfolk schools, and like he had done in other districts, ordered them closed, leaving black and white students out of school.
At this point, the citizens and businesspeople of Norfolk took matters into their own hands and founded the “Committee for Public Schools.” Their letters and petitions were met with opposition from the Governor and local officials, but their efforts led to a legal challenge, which culminated in the 1959 decision of a federal court, finding the closing of schools to be unconstitutional and illegal. This brought attention not just to local media, but national as well. When Edward R.Murrow broadcast his “The Lost Class of ‘59” on the CBS National News, the negative backlash was enough to quiet the politicians and get the six closed schools reopened with little military, police or parental opposition.
Gov. Almond made one last ditch effort in 1959 to provide for the safeguarding of all segregated schools, but in 1960 he realized it was a battle that would not be won. So, he ordered the integration of all schools in Virginia. Ironically, Norfolk was named an “All-American” city that year.
References
Brewbaker, John Joseph. Desegregation in the Norfolk Public Schools. Norfolk, VA: Southern Regional
Council, 1960. Retrieved on August 2, 2009.
Gruss, Mike and Philip Walzer. "Pioneers of Progress." (Series: Brown v. Board of Education: 1954-2004).
The Virginian-Pilot, February 1, 2004. (Factiva). Retrieved on August 1, 2009
Nichols, James Andrew. The Turning of a City's Soul: Norfolk's Public School Integration Crisis, 1954-
1959. M.A., History, VPI, 2003. (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-09192003-
125601/unrestricted/Nichols.pdf). Retrieved on July 30, 2009
Parramore, Thomas C. Norfolk: The First Four Centuries. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia,
1994. (Chapter 25: A sojourn in the Byrd-cage, pp. 362-376) F234.N8P375 1994. Retrieved on
August 2, 2009.
Virginian-Pilot. Fighting Massive Resistance. (Six part series running from 9/28/2008-10/3/2008)
http://www.pilotonline.com/. Retrieved on August 1, 2009.
White, Forrest R. Pride and Prejudice: School Desegregation and Urban Renewal in Norfolk, 1950-1959.
Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992. HT177.N66W45 1992. Retrieved on August 1, 2009
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