Hundreds walk to show how far we've traveled

NORFOLK

Was it poetic coincidence or just a quirk of the calendar? Or was it, as some suggested Monday, divine intervention?

As hundreds braved the cold to march through downtown Norfolk in celebration of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and national holiday, plenty said they thought it wonderfully fitting that, today, the very next day, Barack Obama is to become the first African American president of the United States.

"I think it's beautiful, absolutely beautiful, and I'm honored just to be here," Lisa Brownson, a senior at Norfolk State University, said just before the Unity March began at Scope.

As she huddled with several friends from Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Brownson said: "His dream has come to fruition."

King and Obama were mentioned together all day - in speeches, in song, on posters, in conversation, on buttons - as Norfolk commemorated its support for the incoming president while also recognizing its often painful place in the civil rights movement.

Indeed, 50 years ago on Monday, a key Virginia Supreme Court ruling came down that spelled the end of Massive Resistance and the beginning of integration in public schools.

The 50th anniversary of that decision added yet another landmark to Monday's weight - and many who marched or attended speeches afterward said they were there to experience history.

Shirley Stein brought her 5-year-old granddaughter, Brianna, to the march because "when the text books are written, I want her to be able to say she participated in all this."

As the two held hands and kept pace with the crowd on Brambleton Avenue, Brianna said she was cold but "having fun" anyway. Stein smiled.

In 1958, Stein said she was forced to attend high school in Chesapeake's Deep Creek neighborhood when the state closed Norfolk schools rather than integrate them, a political strategy known as Massive Resistance.

The schools reopened months later, in February 1959, with blacks and whites together.

Louis Cousins was one of the "Norfolk 17" blocked from attending all-white schools before the courts opened them.

Cousins spoke Monday at Chrysler Hall as part of a post-march ceremony of song, dance and speeches. Several of his former classmates sat in the front row.

Cousins corrected those who alleged that Norfolk's integration was fairly calm compared with those in other Southern states - "I can tell you it was anything but peaceful."

He thanked the city of Norfolk for sponsoring a Massive Resistance commission, though he noted it has taken "50 years to finally get some of the facts out."

Cousins saved some of his toughest talk for the current generation of public school students.

Recalling a recent visit to Maury High School in Norfolk, Cousins said he was struck by "a disturbing attitude." He criticized "kids with their pants hanging down to their knees" who "only want to talk in street language."

"Let me tell you, to converse and produce in this society, you have to learn and speak English," Cousins said to loud applause and chants from the audience.

Mayor Paul Fraim launched the MLK holiday by declaring Monday "a very important event" and described Massive Resistance as an ugly political ploy that saw "penalizing 10,000 innocent children as a small price to pay for keeping schools segregated."

Fraim sipped coffee and chatted with other marchers along the route, which took about 30 minutes to complete. The participants included toddlers and the elderly, students and retirees.

At 81, f ormer Mayor Irv Hill said he was "honored and pleased that I can still walk and be a part of this."

A group of freshmen from Granby High School, black and white and arm in arm, wore signs around their necks that read "Granby for Non-Violence."

After the crowd pushed past First Baptist Church on Bute Street, a hymn started up. Participants chimed in an extra phrase here and there - "One more day!" and "You got to stand for something!"

The mayor also spoke at the ceremony after the march and drew his loudest applause when quoting MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech when discussing Obama's election.

"Finally," Fraim said, "people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com