Integrated classroom at anacostia high school

Civil Rights: Integration of Virginia Schools

By AtomShock0812

  • Blacks barred from schools

    Blacks barred from schools

  • Segregated public school system created

    Segregated public school system created

  • Plessy v. Ferguson,

    Plessy v. Ferguson,
    Supreme Court rules racial segregation legal - "separate but equal" doctrine.

  • Racial Integrity Act passed.

    Racial Integrity Act passed.
    Native Americans are barred from white schools.

  • Violation of the 14th!

    Violation of the 14th!
    Federal court rules Norfolk School Board violated 14th Amendment by not paying black and white teachers equally.

  • Gregory Swanson enrolls in UVa Law School.

    Gregory Swanson enrolls in UVa Law School.
    First African American student at white school in Virginia. Black students admitted to Virginia Tech and the College of William & Mary -for programs not available at Virginia State College in next 5 years.

  • Student protest

    Student protest
    Students in Farmville protest unequal conditions, then sue for an integrated school. Lawsuit becomes part of Brown v. Board of Education.

  • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

    Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
    Supreme Court rules "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Base school at Fort Myer is integrated by Dept. of Defense. Catholic schools in Richmond Diocese enroll sixty blacks in formerly white schools.

  • Virginia resists

    Virginia resists
    U.S. Senator Byrd encourages "massive resistance" to school desegregation. Massive Resistance laws are passed to "prevent a single Negro child from entering any white school."

  • Norfolk and law suits

    White parents win suit against school closings in Norfolk. Federal and state courts rule Massive Resistance laws unconstitutional. Closed schools are reopened with limited integration. Arlington admits black students to white junior high school.

  • Prince Edward County

    Prince Edward County
    Refusing to integrate, closes public schools, locked until 1964. White students attend private school. Tuition grants for "segregation academies" begin.

  • Open the schools!

    Supreme Court orders Prince Edward County schools reopened.

  • Civil Rights Act passed.

    Civil Rights Act passed.

  • College acceptance

    All public colleges now admitting both black and white students. Private colleges follow. Supreme Court ends "freedom of choice" plans.

  • Desegregation

    Desegregation
    Desegregation of U.S. public schools generally peaks; after this, schools in many cities become more segregated