On September 19, 1958 Lane High School and Venable Elementary Schools shut down for five months in an attempt by officials to prevent the desegregation of the Charlottesville School System. Now, City Council wants to say it is sorry for that.
The action, known as Massive Resistance, was supported and advocated by Sen. Harry Byrd Sr. in an attempt to block the 1954 U.S. Supreme County decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which called for the desegregation of all public schools as “inherently unequal.” Virginia’s then-governor James Lindsay Almond Jr. ordered the immediate closure of the schools in Charlottesville, Warren County High School in Front Royal and six schools in Norfolk.
Fifty years later, City Council is considering a formal apology for the closing of the schools and for the impact Massive Resistance had on city residents. A resolution, discussed by Council on September 21, calls the school closings “a disgraceful act,” and praises the courage of the families of the 12 students who eventually integrated the city’s school system.
Councilor David Brown said that given the role of the City Council, which upheld segregation, “it’s very appropriate that an apology be issued.”
“I am very pleased that city councilors have taken upon this major responsibility to offer this apology,” says M. Rick Turner, former UVA dean and president of the local chapter of the NAACP. “I think it’s a long time coming, but this is the right time in terms of the 50th anniversary of the Massive Resistance.”
He continues, “I think the entire City of Charlottesville and Albemarle should be pleased that this apology is being offered by the city, who massively resisted African-American and white students going to school together.”
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