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Film and discussion with plaintiffs from the Virginia case.
February 27, 2010
3:00 p.m.
Free, reservations recommended
This program will feature a film that highlights the issues surrounding the strike by Farmville, Virginia students who walked out of the all-black Moton High School to protest the conditions in the school, which was badly in need of repair and overcrowded, with the original building being supplemented with tar paper shacks. The efforts of the students that day were the first step toward desegregation of public schools in Virginia. Eventually, the Davis case would be joined with the other cases of Brown v. Board of Education which struck down legally-sanctioned segregation in public places. Prince Edward County closed its schools for five years rather than integrate. In march of 1963, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy noted:
"The only places on earth not to provide free public education are Communist China, North Vietnam, Sarawak, Singapore, British Honduras-and Prince Edward County, Virginia. Something must be done about Prince Edward County."
Ultimately, Prince Edward County was forced to open its schools by the courts. On September 8, 1964, about 1,500 students, all but eight of whom were black, returned to classes in the Prince Edward County public schools for the first time in five years.
To RSVP by February 25, call the Brown Foundation at (785) 235-3939 or send an email by clicking here. Free and open to the public, Sunday, February 27, 3:00 p.m. at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, 1515 SE Monroe Street, Topeka, Kansas 66612.
Last updated: March 31, 2022