Brown’s Battleground: Students, Segregationists, and the Struggle for Justice in Prince Edward County, Virginia

296 Pages·2011·2.569 MB·English

by  Jill Ogline Titus

BROWN’S BATTLEGROUND
This page intentionally left blank
BROWN’S BATTLEGROUND
STUDENTS, SEGREGATIONISTS, AND
THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IN
PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, VIRGINIA
JILL OGLINE TITUS
THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA PRESS
Chapel Hill
This book was published with the assistance of the
THORNTON H. BROOKS FUND
of the University of North Carolina Press.
© 2011 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Designed by Richard Hendel
Set in Quadraat type
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources.
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the
Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Titus, Jill Ogline
Brown’s battleground : students, segregationists, and the struggle
for justice in Prince Edward county, Virginia / Jill Ogline Titus.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8078-3507-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. School integration—Virginia—Prince Edward County. 2. Educational equalization—
Virginia—Prince Edward County. 3. Public schools—Virginia—Prince Edward County. 
4. African American students—Virginia—Prince Edward County. 5. Civil rights movements—
Virginia—Prince Edward County. 6. Brown, Oliver, 1918–1961—Trials, litigation, etc. I. Title.
LC214.22.V8T58 2011
379.2′609755632—dc22
2011015091
A portion of this book appeared, in somewhat different form, as
“Farmville 1963: The Long Hot Summer” in The Educational Lockout of African Americans in
Prince Edward County, Virginia (1959–1964): Personal Accounts and Reflections, edited by Terence
Hicks and Abul Pitre (Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2010), 33–45.
Used by permission.
15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1
To Sean, with love and gratitude
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Moton High, 1951 1
1 Seizing the Offensive 11
2 We Suffered Our Children to Be Destroyed 38
3 Friends in the Struggle 56
4 The Greatest Gift We Ever Shall Receive 67
5 Digging Up Some Liberals 95
6 The Long Hot Summer, 1963 121
7 Washington, D.C., Meets Farmville 133
8 The Law Has Spoken 160
9 Standing Together 177
10 Moton High, 1969 193
11 Carrying On 204
Conclusion: Victors or Victims? 218
Notes 223
Bibliography 259
Index 271
This page intentionally left blank
ILLUSTRATIONS & MAPS
ILLUSTRATIONS
R. R. Moton High School, exterior 2
R. R. Moton High School, interior 3
Farmville High School 4
Doctor’s office, Farmville 25
L. F. Griffin and students in front
of Moton High School 47
Bill Bagwell and students 76
L. F. Griffin and students 78
Students at bus station 82
Students with host family 90
Prince Edward Academy 98
“No Trespassing” sign 111
Abandoned buses 147
MAPS
Virginia 12
Prince Edward County 13