When faced with the directive to integrate public schools in 1959, Prince Edward County chose instead to shut the doors of their schools to all children. For the next five years, the county's schools remained closed and their students struggled to find a way to receive the education they deserved.
On Sunday, Nov. 4 more than 100 people attended an oral history panel on the Brown v. Board decision and the subsequent closing of Prince Edward County, VA public schools at Swem Library. Charles Taylor, Dorothy Holcomb and Edward Chappell shared their first-hand experiences, and were joined on the panel by Justin Reid of the Robert Russa Moton Museum. In attendance were President Taylor Reveley, Dean of the School of Education Virginia McLaughlin, faculty members, students and members of the community.
Due to the closing of Prince Edward County public schools, Taylor was sent to Kittrell Junior College in North Carolina to finish high school, along with 60 other students. Holcomb and her siblings pretended to live in a dilapidated house in neighboring Appomattox County to attend schools there. Chappell attended a segregation academy following the closing of Prince Edward County schools.
This event, which was free and open to the public, was co-sponsored by the Africana and American Studies programs, Department of History and Lemon Project. It was held in conjunction with the exhibit "The Virginia Way of Life Must Be Preserved," which is part of Swem Library's project, From Fights to Right: The Long Road to a More Perfect Union.
