Shortly after the Brown decision, Governor Stanley appointed a 32-man legislative committee to study the problem raised and to prepare a report with recommendations." Desegregation of Virginia's Catholic parochial schools, which began in September, 1954, was reported to be working out "magnificently" with 39 Negro pupils in ten schools.10 School year 1955-56 Resistance to school desegregation stiffened, and statements of public officials became more critical of the Supreme Court decision. At the annual convention of the Virginia State Bar Association, Attorney General Almond and others criticized the high Court, and the Association adopted a resolution by a vote of 75 to 54 deploring "the present tendency of the United States Supreme Court . . . to invade by judicial decision the constitutionally reserved powers of the States of the Union. Upon recommendation of Governor Stanley, the Virginia General Assembly passed resolutions "interposing the sovereignty of Virginia against encroachment upon the reserved powers of this State." 12 11 Also at this session of the legislature, after the electorate of the State had voted two to one in favor of a constitutional convention to make possible a tuition grant plan, section 141 of the Virginia constitution was amended to allow State funds to be expended for education in private non-sectarian schools. School year 1956–57 The local option features of the recommendations of the legislative committee (the Gray Commission) for dealing with problems posed by the Brown decision were scrapped when the legislature, meeting in special session, approved the legislative proposals introduced by Governor Stanley and strongly endorsed by United States Senator Harry F. Byrd. These embodied the concept of "massive resistance." 13 School year 1957-58 No public school desegregation occurred in Virginia in this school year, but developments in a number of desegregation cases moved the State closer to the prospect. S.S.N., Sept. 1954, p. 15. 10 S.S.N., Oct. 1954, p. 14. 11 S.S.N., Sept. 1955, p. 12. 12 Act of Feb. 1, 1956, Va. Acts 1956, p. 1213. 13 S.S.N., Oct. 1956, p. 16; See Chapter V in the Education Section of this Report for details and the subsequent history of this legislation. A poll by the Richmond Times Dispatch, the State's largest newspaper, indicated that two out of three white adult Virginians preferred the closure of public schools to desegregation.14 School year 1958–59 As school desegregation orders ran the full course of judicial appeal, J. Lindsay Almond, Jr., now Governor, in September 1958 invoked the State's school closing law to withdraw nine public schools from local authority and operation. The schools successively closed were Warren County's only high school, Charlottesville's only white high school and one of its elementary schools, and all six of Norfolk's white high and junior high schools.15 On January 19, 1959, the State laws under which the Governor's power was invoked were held to violate both the Federal and State Constitutions.16 The desegregation orders applicable to the three communities were thereupon made effective for the school term beginning in February, 1959. Similar orders were made effective for the opening of the second school term in Arlington and Alexandria. Charlottesville was the only one of the five communities to be granted a stay of the district court's desegregation order.18 In February, 1959, fifty-three Negro pupils were admitted to eleven formerly all-white schools in four Virginia communities. However, twenty-one of the Negro pupils were attending the Warren County High School without the presence of white students. The 1044 white pupils who had been enrolled in the high school prior to the school closing chose to finish the year in the private school that had been established, or in other public schools they had been attending.19 An analysis of enrollment figures revealed that in Norfolk 17 Negro pupils were scattered among 7200 white pupils. Four Negro pupils were attending a junior high school with 1075 white pupils in Arlington, and nine Negro pupils were among 2300 white pupils in three schools in Alexandria.20 The admission of Negro pupils to white schools in Virginia was a significant event, but perhaps more noteworthy is the fact that in all three communities the occasion was unmarred by mobs, violence, or the abuse of Negro pupils. It had been made clear that no violence would be tolerated. All were large communities with adequate law enforcement agencies, and the entire school term passed without significant incident. S.S.N., Dec. 1957, pp. 10, 11. 15 S.S.N., Oct. 1958, pp. 3, 4. 16 James v. Almond, 170 F. Supp. 331 (E. D. Va. 1959); Harrison v. Day, 106 S.E. 2d 636 (Va. 1959). CHART XV. Number of Pupils Affected by Desegregation in the 17 Southern and Border States and the District of Columbia The 447,022 Negro pupils in school systems that desegregated between 1954 and 1959 represent 15 percent of the total Negro enrollment, as shown here. However, approximately half of them, either because of residential segregation or for other Data from Southern Education Reporting Service, May 15, 1959. reasons, are still in all-Negro schools. See Table 19 and adja cent text. An unknown number of white pupils in Missouri are in desegregated schools but have been included in the top panel because of insufficient data. This division is actually larger than shown, because an unknown percentage of Missouri's white pupils are in desegregated schools. It was estimated that 12,729 pupils were affected by school closings in Virginia. Of this number, 3,015 were presumed not to have received instruction in other public schools, both within and without the State, or in private schools.21 In all of the communities affected by school closings, private segregated schools were established. It remains to be seen what role they will play in the future of education in Virginia. With the fall of key provisions of the State's "massive resistance" legislation, the Governor took the position that there was no alternative to compliance with desegregation orders of the Federal Courts, and that the State's policy from this point on should be directed towards seeing that no child is forced to attend a desegregated school.22 A new legislative study group, the Perrow Commission, was established to develop proposals for a new course of action. As a result of its work, the Virginia General Assembly in the spring of 1959 adopted new legislation to permit local option in matters of school desegregation.2 23 Prince Edward County, Virginia, was one of the defendants in the School Segregation Cases in 1954. In this county, located on the fringe of the "southside" section of the State where the Negro population is most concentrated, there are more Negro public school children than white.24 After a long course of litigation the Federal District Court gave the county until 1965 to comply with the United States Supreme Court mandate, but that date was left subject to change if conditions warranted.25 On May 5, 1959, this decision was reversed on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit which directed that the county be ordered to admit qualified Negroes to its schools in September, 1959.26 Since that time Prince Edward County has taken numerous steps toward abolition of its public school system. 21 S.S.N., Jan. 1959, p. 9. 23 S.S.N., March 1959, p. 14. 23 S.S.N., May 1959, p. 2. 24 S.S.N., June 1959, p. 6. 25 Allen v. County School Board, 164 F. Supp. 786 (E.D. Va. 1958). 20 Allen v. County School Board, 266 F. 2d 507 (4th Cir. 1959). |