|
|
Black
Students
Helped end
'Massive Resistance'
 (AP) - The "Norfolk 17" were honored
Sunday at the church that educated them 50 years ago when six of the
city's all-white public schools closed under Virginia's defiant
response to court-ordered desegregation. Ten of the 14 surviving
members of the Norfolk 17 — who went on to integrate the
public schools, enduring isolation and their classmates' scorn
— attended the service at the First Baptist Church, where
they were remembered as fearless civil rights pioneers in the
segregated South.
"We're here to celebrate history," the Rev. Robert G. Murray told the
packed congregation. "All God's children deserve an education."
The 17 were among thousands of black students denied a place in the
classroom during "Massive Resistance," Virginia's state-sponsored
answer to the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling
that declared school segregation unconstitutional.
"There were 17 stories. Each one of us has our own story. My brother
died 14 years ago. His story is lost," said Patricia Turner, who along
with her late brother James Turner Jr. was among the 17.
Virginia's Massive Resistance cut funds to any school that dared to integrate.
Schools were closed and private academies were created to educate white
students who could afford the tuition. The policy primarily affected
schools in Charlottesville, Norfolk and Prince Edward County, which
continued its own homegrown version of school segregation until 1964.
In Norfolk, three all-white high schools and three junior high schools
closed between September 1958 and February 1959 rather than accept
black students.
The Norfolk 17 were turned away from those six schools. At First
Baptist Church, the 17 said they found loving, attentive and demanding
teachers.
In January 1959, state and federal courts declared that the school
closings were unconstitutional. The Norfolk schools reopened in Feb. 2,
1959, and the 17 went on to attend the white schools, ending the era of
Massive Resistance.
At school, the 17 were met by angry mobs and insults. Many said they
were isolated from their white classmates during their high school
years. The speakers mentioned Louis Cousins, who was widely depicted in
a news photograph sitting alone in the Maury High School auditorium
while white classmates were seated many rows away.
Cousins attended Sunday's celebration but did not speak.
"These people were alone," said John Charles Thomas, the first black
justice on the Virginia Supreme Court and a product of the Norfolk
public schools. "Every one of them was alone."
Thomas recalled the tumultuous era in which the young members of the
Norfolk 17 integrated the city schools. The judge who ordered the
schools reopened had a cross burned on his lawn, he said, and the civil
rights movement was met with violence in many places.
"This was a dangerous time," Thomas said to nods and amens of the
congregation. "Think of the courage that it took for all of them to do
what they did."
Turning to the first two rows of the church, Thomas said, "Norfolk 17, God knows we're grateful."
Virginia established Brown v. Board of Education Scholarships for
people whose education was disrupted or ended during Massive
Resistance. The city of Norfolk plans to conduct events marking the
50th anniversary of the end of Massive Resistance next year.
Rate this Article:
Tell
Us What You Think.
|
|
|
Subscribe to Our RSS Feed