“The Odyssey” Exhibit Commemorates 60th Anniversary of Desegregation of Norfolk Public Schools
NORFOLK, VA—The Sargeant Memorial Collection of Norfolk Public Library and the Slover Library Foundation present The Odyssey: Seeking Equality in Norfolk Public Schools, 1956-1959. The photo exhibition, commemorating the fight for the desegregation of Norfolk Public Schools, is now on display at Slover Library through the month of October.
In the pivotal case of Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, The U.S. Supreme Court made a final decision in 1955 and ordered all public schools to desegregate, allowing African American students to attend formally White-only schools. In response, U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. called for a “Massive Resistance” in Virginia, and pushed forth laws intended to prevent desegregation, most significantly a law that cut off state funds and closed any public school that attempted to desegregate.[1] For Norfolk and Newport News students, schools remained segregated until the 1956 cases Leola Pearl Beckett v. Norfolk City School Board and Jerome A. Adkins et al., Plaintiffs, v. Newport News School Board were brought before the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia. The cases sought to force Norfolk and Newport News public schools to desegregate and took two years to reach a decision.
In the summer of 1958, numerous African American students and families in Norfolk stood before court for their civil right to equal education. All of the 151 students that applied to attend white schools and completed assessments to determine their eligibility were denied admission for various reasons. Judge Walter E. Hoffman ordered Norfolk School Board to reevaluate its findings, and seventeen African American applicants would be found eligible to transfer. The students, heralded as the “Norfolk 17,” were admitted into Maury High, Granby High, Norview High, Blair Junior High, Northside Junior High, and Norview Junior High.
However, in response, Virginia Governor J. Lindsay Almond Jr. ordered the closing of the six Norfolk schools to keep them from being desegregated in September of 1958. Countless students were affected by the school closures, and Norfolk residents rose up against the decision in letters, protests, and rallies to reopen the schools as desegregated schools. Though there existed dissent and resistance to reopening the schools among some who supported the Governor’s decision, the Virginia Supreme Court in Harrison v. Day and U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia James v. Almond both ruled against the Governor’s actions and ordered the schools reopened after being closed for two years. The Norfolk 17 attended their “First Day of School” on February 2, 1959, marking an inaugural step for African American students in Norfolk.
The Odyssey: Seeking Equality in Norfolk Public Schools, 1956-1959 exhibition chronicles the harrowing journey for desegregation through court case documents, articles, and photos of the courageous students who struggled for their right to education. The exhibition is sponsored by the Slover Library Foundation and curated by the Sargeant Memorial Collection, Norfolk Public Library. Visitors can learn more in the free and public exhibition, now on display in the Slover Library Forum through October 31st.
About Slover Library:
Slover Library blends traditional library functions with the best of contemporary library resources and services. The innovative space design creates a vital and dynamic center of community learning, leading-edge technology and civic engagement, available to all citizens of the region, and it is known as an attraction for residents and visitors alike. Slover Library is located in beautiful downtown Norfolk on the corner of Plume and Atlantic Street near MacArthur Square and the MacArthur Memorial. Call (757) 431-7491 for more information.
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