CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
After the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia's white political leaders at the state and local levels led a Massive Resistance movement, even threatening to close public schools rather than desegregate. Governor Thomas B. Stanley backed legislation in the General Assembly to maintain so-called "separate but equal" schools. The reactions by Virginians to Brown v. Board varied—while some approved the decision enthusiastically, there were many who bitterly opposed it.
Carl E. Auvil, a navy veteran of World War II and a resident of Falls Church, Virginia, wrote to Governor Stanley in November 1954 to express his views on desegregation. Describing himself as part of a "minority" of Virginians, he informed the governor that his family supported the Supreme Court's decision. He expressed his hope that his young children would be able to attend integrated schools.
In 1958, Virginia governor J. Lindsay Almond ordered the closing of public schools in Warren County, Charlottesville, and Norfolk, rather than allow Black students to attend white schools in those localities. In January 1959, a federal district court declared Virginia's Massive Resistance laws unconstitutional based on the “equal protection” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals declared that they violated the state constitution. Many localities in Virginia, however, continued to resist efforts to desegregate public schools into the 1960s. Black students began attending public schools in the independent city of Falls Church in 1961.
Citation: Letter from Carl E. Auvil, Falls Church, to Governor Thomas B. Stanley, Richmond, November 15, 1954, Office of the Governor, Thomas B. Stanley Papers, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
For more information about "massive resistance," see Encyclopedia Virginia.
Standards
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Scan It: Scan the transcript of the speech. What words or phrases stand out to you?
Post Activities
Analyze: Why do you think Carl Auvil described himself as in the "minority" of Virginians? Do you think he was? Why or why not?
Think About It: From your reading and study, how do you believe the experiences of a Black student in a Virginia public school were different from that of a white student? Be specific.
Another Perspective: If you were the governor of Virginia, how would you have responded to Virginians' reactions to Brown v. Board of Education?