Special report: Fighting Massive Resistance
The Virginian-Pilot and PilotOnline.com © Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 2008
SPECIAL REPRINT: Did you like the series? Order a booklet containing all six parts of ''When the wall came tumbling down.''
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On Sept. 29, 1958, Virginia closed six of Norfolk’s public schools rather than desegregate.
A SIX-PART SERIES
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A NOTE TO READERS
Since most of this series covers events of the 1950s and ’60s, we chose to use the language of the time, such as “Negro” and “colored.”
A special thanks to Charles Ford of Norfolk State University and Jeff Littlejohn at Sam Houston State University for sharing court transcripts and their expertise. Other documents were found in the Old Dominion University archives with the help of Sonia Yaco and Jennifer Clayton. Research also came from legal documents of the late Joseph Jordan, made available by his nephew, Rodney Jordan, and from Kirn Memorial Library, including minutes of the Norfolk School Board. Other sources included: Time magazine; Life magazine; The Journal of Negro Education; the Norfolk Journal and Guide; the Library of Virginia; Washington and Lee University; the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs at Clemson University; the Harvard Project on School Desegregation ; the University of Virginia; former Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch and The Portsmouth Star reporter Tony Stein; former School Board member Francis Crenshaw; “The Norfolk 17” by Andrew I. Heidelberg; “Standing Before The Shouting Mob” by Alexander S. Leidholdt; “The Reconstruction of Southern Education” by Gary Orfield; “Pride and Prejudice School Desegregation and Urban Renewal in Norfolk, 1950-1959” by Forrest R. White; interviews with parents and members of the Norfolk 17, and reports from several newspapers. |
''Massive Resistance'' digs in its heels
Norfolk officials announce a plan to keep black students out of previously all-white schools.
Video interview: Ellis W. James
Standing up against the system
Several black families decide to tackle the mission of breaking the race barrier.
Video interview: Olivia Driver
The battle heads to the courtroom
The School Board tries to justify its rejection of all black students.
Graphic: 151 applied; 151 denied
No more defying the law of the land
An impatient judge applies pressure to the School Board.
Graphic: Major breakthroughs along the way
Another viewpoint: An opponent of integration in 1958 gains fresh respect for the rule of law and for equal rights
The standoff ends in an ugly stalemate
Norfolk refuses to give in, and six schools are closed.
Lost Class of ’59: When senior year is canceled, adulthood hits with a jolt
Video interview: Margaret Cross
50 years later, both sides are still paying a price
Members of the Norfolk 17 say it was worth the sacrifice to help crack the wall of segregation.
The Norfolk 17: What happened to them?
Video interview: Andrew Heidelberg
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CREDITS: Denise Watson Batts, writer; Carl Fincke, editor; Delores Johnson, primary photographer and videographer; Miranda Mulligan, online artist and designer; Sam Hundley, print artist and designer; Kim Kent, researcher; Dewey Knudson and Brian Cleveland, copy editors; Kerry W. Sipe, online producer.
HamptonRoads.comPilotOnline.comHamptonRoads.tv
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