1 10 23 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/e0d5aae3dab80d9cd920a5bacf43932b.jpg 7618c700734449f4b2abbec519b262ec https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/0cd1eb05f66fb0a4df7deac12e5498c0.pdf 2f4e1bb5f079f26e57572f4624c7e801 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context The 1896 US Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that established the so-called "separate but equal" doctrine gave rise to segregation laws throughout the southern United States. Often called Jim Crow laws, these laws mandated the separation of races in public facilities. Virginia’s General Assembly began passing laws to segregate public transportation in 1900. Lawmakers first targeted railroads, requiring separate cars for Black passengers by July 1900. In 1901, the General Assembly passed a law segregating steamboats. Three years later, it adopted a law to allow companies that operated streetcars or trolleys to separate passengers. Following a streetcar boycott by Black Richmonders, the Assembly approved a law in 1906 that required all trolleys to provide separate seating. In 1926, the General Assembly passed what is commonly known as the Public Assemblages Act that required racial segregation at all public events. And finally, in 1930, lawmakers segregated passengers on motorcoaches and buses. Although Black citizens protested these laws, segregation remained the law of the commonwealth until the 1960s. States employed Jim Crow laws to determine what happened inside their borders, but they could not regulate interstate commerce between the states. In 1944, Irene Morgan traveled from her mother's home in Gloucester, Virginia, to her doctor in Baltimore, Maryland, after suffering a miscarriage. She was already seated in the segregated section when the driver ordered her to move to accommodate more white passengers. Morgan refused and the bus driver had her arrested. As police tried to remove her from the bus, she tore up her arrest warrant and defended herself against physical assault. Convicted of violating the 1930 law, Morgan challenged her conviction with assistance from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Although Virginia’s Supreme Court upheld Morgan’s conviction, the United States Supreme Court overturned her conviction in 1946. In their decision in Irene Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia, the justices posited that states could not interfere with the free movement of transport across state lines and that Virginia's law was not constitutional. However, the ruling did not provide any method for ending segregated travel, which continued in southern states until the 1960s, when the 1964 national Civil Rights Act ended legal segregation in all public accommodations. This undated broadside would have been seen on a bus operating in eastern Virginia. Citizens Rapid Transit Company provided streetcar and then bus service in the Hampton Roads area between the 1920s and 1970s. Citation: Citizens Rapid Transit Company, "Virginia state law requires all colored passengers to ride in rear of bus," no date, Broadside 19-- .C58 FF, Special Collections, Library of Virginia (<a href="https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01LVA_INST/altrmk/alma990015426500205756">available in the Library's online catalog</a>). Related Document Bank entries: <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/332">Richmond Streetcar Boycott, Newspaper Articles, 1904</a> <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/120">Washington, Alexandria, and Mount Vernon Electric Railway, Photograph, n.d.</a> For more information, <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/morgan-v-virginia-1946/">read about Morgan v. Virginia online at Encyclopedia Virginia</a>. Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Look at the words in bold. Why do you think the company highlighted those words? Post Activities Think About It: Rosa Parks is famous for her role in sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but Irene Morgan is not very well known for her role in challenging segregation in public transit. Why do you think this is the case? Be the Journalist: Imagine you are a journalist writing about the decision in Morgan v. Commonwealth. What three questions would you ask Irene Morgan? Why? Standards 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, VS.11, USII.5, USII.8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Segregation in Public Transportation, Broadside, No date Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 19-- African American History Reform Movements Women's History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/c22f721e0cf325bff8b57a7a41ea834a.jpg cf5c04accb2a1c3d70df51ecb3a2f733 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/fae5906d797abb0466641fe4cc1ebb31.jpg 260f274ad69a88433dab659c8b42e215 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/363a5dc3bb2bc8d027490aa0dd7ab167.jpg 9f21e4a7019edc2959aba3cbb6ea086d https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/c7deb22bf7c74aa1085dfd45566565e0.pdf c9d1406f9f329b6d5dc4114e63ffaa48 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6014c97d2d1bef11d40f96713c0cda10.pdf 4c44a0e017d4c8d5b2360b9625e7776f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, Virginia resisted desegregating its schools for years. One tactic was the creation of a state Pupil Placement Board to assign (or place) students in public schools, a task formerly under the control of local school boards. In this way the Commonwealth could limit how many Black or multiracial students would be enrolled in previously all-white schools. This document is the application submitted in 1963 by Thelma L. Branham, a member of the Monacan tribe, to place her daughter in Amherst Elementary School. Like other Indigenous Virginians, members of the Monacan nation occupied a tenuous space in the racial hierarchy of Virginia. When the General Assembly created the segregated public school system in 1870, Virginia Indians were left out of the system entirely. Some could “pass” as white and attend white schools, but they were generally expected to attend the Black schools established at the time. Like other Indigenous citizens, Monacans reacted by creating their own institutions. In 1924, with the passage of the Racial Integrity Act, Virginia Indians like the Monacan were virtually erased from public records, as the law deemed everyone in Virginia a Black person if they had one drop of nonwhite blood. The Monacans built a one-room schoolhouse for their children on Bear Mountain, in Amherst County. This school served children through seventh grade. Public officials treated the Monacan school as they did other nonwhite schools; it received less financial support and had part-time teachers supplied by the county on an irregular basis. In 1907, the Episcopal Church established a mission there. The diocese supplied full-time teachers for the school, which was enlarged to two rooms and was eventually electrified. However, Monacan students wanting classes beyond eighth grade had to take them through correspondence classes or leave the state to attend high school. Although the school board began supplying full-time teachers by 1940, this 1953 article ("Sanitation Report Made") in the Amherst New Era-Progress reported that the Monacan school was one of many in the county in terrible condition, suffering from overcrowding and sanitation problems due to its lack of running water. Most of the white schools in the county—all but two—were deemed adequate, but sixteen Black schools and the Monacan school were not as a result of neglect by the local school board. Monacans were subject to the same prejudicial laws as Black citizens, including the state's massive resistance to desegregation. In 1963, Amherst County tried to build a new, larger school with a high school for the Monacans, which was one of the ways the state tried to maintain segregation. Instead, Bear Mountain Mission School closed and Monacan students had to navigate the complicated and lengthy process created by the Pupil Placement Board to attend white schools. This 1964 article ("4-Room Addition Approved By Board") in the New Era-Progress explained where the students were transfered to and describes the Monacan students with the offensive term "issue." Originating as term for free Black people during slavery, "free issue" was later used by Walter Placker, State Board of Health Registrar and architect of the 1924 law, to describe Indigenous Virginians, who he viewed as vastly inferior to whites. It was not until 1970 that all Amherst county schools integrated. The Bear Mountain Mission school is now the Monacan Nation’s Museum. Citations: County Transfers, Amherst-Approved, 1963 (box 40), Records of the Virginia Pupil Placement Board, 1957-1966, Accession 26517, Library of Virginia; "Sanitation Report on Schools Made," Amherst New Era-Progress, <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=ANE19531029.1.1">Oct. 29, 1953</a>; "Four-Room Addition Approved by Board," Amherst New Era-Progress, <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=ANE19640709.1.1">July 9, 1964</a>, Library of Virginia. Related Document Bank entry: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/226">The New Virginia Law to Preserve Racial Integrity, March 1924</a> <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/monacan-indian-nation/">Learn more about the Monacan Nation online at Encyclopedia Virginia.</a> <a href="https://uncommonwealth.virginiamemory.com/blog/2013/09/04/what-did-you-learn-in-school-today-the-records-of-the-virginia-pupil-placement-board/">Learn more about the Pupil Placement Board records in The UncommonWealth blog.</a> Standards VS.8, VS.10, VS.11, USII.2, USII.5, USII.8, VUS.8, VUS.16 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Scan the articles for information. What schools were described as inadequate? Which ones were not? Why do you think some of the schools were in worse condition than others? Post Activities Analyze: Read the newspaper articles and the pupil placement application. Why did Mrs. Branham want her daughter to go to a different school? What problems did she point out? What opportunities did she see elsewhere? How did the reports from the school sanitation committee support her arguments about the mission school? Current Connection: How would you characterize the condition of your school, and why? What could you do about it? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Monacan Education and the Pupil Placement Board, Amherst County, 1963 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1963 American Indian History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/f0d9f6b9ffde13ffc0b74ecd42b5c3eb.jpg ff2341b49cdb922cc1b8f7454d4429a8 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/63ad60efc551f7b21e68246a07a67fe8.pdf f7e055a9587bc3906549ed970836e4d9 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/d5d2a209c9b47e1ef127ff0b22729679.pdf 548d641836714b9a12ac8c0bfb3b04de https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6195db07d217323d69f077f6f4fc0577.pdf f574d31efb7233587432fa62b2cc00bd https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/44145c591ad4ee63b60f77144f29e4b9.pdf e23a1100b93fe9ce939a9d82690b9afb https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/853f1912fa13b141614ff22c701945e6.pdf 0bc1c4a5946b3272b146925e24458aa2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/5a403155ed6cb49a73e35542bbb8b99c.pdf c3cf68e1ab825265d731418ff85d03db Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context In the second half of the twentieth century, many U.S. cities undertook a series of “urban redevelopment” projects with federal funds that leaders claimed would modernize and upgrade their cities’ infrastructure. These <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-virginia/">urban renewal projects</a> often targeted Black neighborhoods and led to the displacement of thousands of citizens. In 1912 the Virginia General Assembly passed a law allowing towns and cities to physically segregate neighborhoods. City leaders in Richmond and Norfolk quickly designated Black and white sections of their cities. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1917 that such laws were unconstitutional, but the ruling was not always enforced. In 1926 the Supreme Court allowed covenants in property deeds that allowed white homeowners to restrict by race who could occupy or purchase their house. In the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration's Home Owners' Loan Corporation designated Black neighborhoods as unworthy of prime bank loans, which meant that residents could not get loans on favorable terms—or loans at all. The practice was known as <a href="https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining">redlining</a> since those neighborhoods were marked on maps with red. Jim Crow laws and government actions contributed to highly segregated neighborhoods, where Black residents with low and high incomes often lived side by side in disparate housing situations. Redlining meant that many Black people could not afford to buy homes or take out loans to upgrade and modernize their homes. This situation was exacerbated by a housing shortage during World War II, which often meant that absentee landlords refused to fix dilapidated, overcrowded housing. Many of these Black neighborhoods suffered from substandard housing, including public housing that had been erected during the Great Depression and World War II that was often built quickly with questionable construction standards. By the 1950s, these areas were often characterized by a high concentration of tenants at or below the poverty level who lived in unsafe housing rented to them by absentee landlords. In Virginia, many city developers looked to these vulnerable neighborhoods when planning new construction projects. From highway construction to the creation of new business districts, areas like Atlantic City and Branch Creek in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-norfolk/">Norfolk</a>, Vinegar Hill in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-charlottesville/">Charlottesville</a>, Jackson Ward in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-richmond/">Richmond</a>, and the Northeast and Gainsboro neighborhoods in <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/urban-renewal-in-roanoke/">Roanoke</a> were cleared for urban redevelopment projects. These areas did experience some depopulation after World War II as Black residents who could afford to moved away, while those who were left generally lacked the political clout to fight so-called urban renewal plans. The poll tax prevented many Black citizens from being able to vote against projects that would displace them. Urban renewal often displaced the most vulnerable residents of a town or city. Norfolk received some of the first federal funding available for “slum clearance” projects. City planners’ first phase of urban renewal in 1951 targeted dilapidated housing and included housing for some displaced residents. Their second phase was a direct attempt to stave off integration following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The second phase targeted increasingly integrated neighborhoods that included military housing that had been built during World War II with modern heating and plumbing. Another targeted neighborhood, Atlantic City, was majority white and had recently completed a code violations survey following which many owners had repaired and updated their homes. These neighborhoods were in transition as Black residents began to move in due to severe housing shortages. Rather than allow the schools in these areas to be integrated, the city council led by Mayor <a href="http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Duckworth_W_Fred_1899-1972">Fred Duckworth</a> razed neighborhoods to the ground to make way for industrial and business zones while displacing 20,000 city residents. Other urban renewal projects destroyed Black neighborhoods in favor of white business interests. Roanoke created a housing authority in 1949 to seek federal funding for redevelopment. In 1955 the city council declared the Northeast neighborhood was a slum and began a project that destroyed homes, businesses, and schools in an 83-acre area. Residents were told they would be able to return to new homes in the area, but the project widened one of the main roads into Roanoke and encouraged commercial development instead of homes. In 1954 Charlottesville’s city council created a housing authority that conducted a survey to find “substandard dwellings occupied by Negro families” in order to secure federal funding to redevelop Vinegar Hill, the heart of the city's Black business district. Many of the houses that were deemed to be “blighted” were rented by Black residents from white landowners. In 1960 Charlottesville voters narrowly approved a redevelopment referendum as a result of the disfranchisement of many Black voters by the state's poll tax. The city used eminent domain to seize the businesses and homes of Black residents. By 1964 about 600 residents had been displaced from their homes and 30 Black-owned businesses that had generated about $1.6 million in business had closed. Many residents moved into public housing, but the commercial development project stalled and the land remained vacant for well over a decade. In the 1950s, city planners in <a href="https://www.virginiamemory.com/online-exhibitions/exhibits/show/mapping-inequality">Richmond</a> literally tore apart Jackson Ward. Having already evicted more than 250 families during World War II for a housing project known as Gilpin Court, planners displaced 1,900 families—roughly ten percent of Richmond’s Black population—for four-lane highway through the neighborhood in 1957. The white city council fundamentally changed this neighborhood. Working with the state Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority, planners charted a path that ran through the heart of Jackson Ward, which had been known in the early twentieth century as the “Harlem of the South” because of its strong business community and cultural institutions. Private business development and the convention center construction from the 1970s–2000s threatened the neighborhood so much that the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Jackson Ward one of the most threatened historic districts in the country in 2001. Black neighborhoods from Roanoke to Alexandria saw the demise of businesses and the decentering of community institutions in the name of slum clearance and urban revitalization. The documents in this lesson plan include Virginia's 1912 act allowing for the creation of segregated housing districts, articles from the Norfolk Journal and Guide, a Black-owned newspaper reporting on the realities of displaced residents in Norfolk and Roanoke, articles from the Charlottesville Daily Progress, a white-owned paper that supported the Vinegar Hill redevelopment, and photographs from the records of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority with a map from the Library of Virginia's House to Highway exhibition showing the effects the highway construction had on the neighborhood. Citations: An Act to provide for designation by cities and towns of segregation districts, Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia...1912 (1912), 330–332; articles from the Charlottesville Daily Progress, June 9, June 13, and June 28, 1960; articles from the Norfolk Journal and Guide, March 5, 1955 and April 2, 1955; Jackson Ward photographs in Records of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike Authority, 1954–1983, Accession 40941, State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia; map overlay created for House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History exhibition (2025). Standards USII.5, USII.8, CE.6, CE.9, CE.10, GOVT.2, GOVT.5, GOVT.10, VUS.10, VUS.12 Goals and Guiding Principles: Students will understand how segregation, redlining, and housing pressures due to rapid urbanization and segregation made Black neighborhoods vulnerable to redevelopment plans. They will explore how Black citizens tried to protect their individual liberties in the face of majority rule, despite the roadblocks they faced in trying to secure the vote. Students will recognize how Black citizens peacefully protested by making their voices heard through the press and determine their rates of success. Suggested Questions Timeline (15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS Place all of the documents in this lesson plan in chronological order and create a timeline. Add into this timeline the following events: <ul> <li>The creation of Virginia’s 1902 Constitution that included a poll tax that required eligible voters to pay before registering to vote</li> <li>The redlining of neighborhoods across the country by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation from 1935–1940</li> <li>World War II, 1941–1945</li> <li>Federal and state poll taxes outlawed by 24th Amendment (1964) and U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1966</li> </ul> Consider the following questions: how do you think state and federal legislation affected where urban renewal efforts took place, and why? Why do you think World War II was a contributing factor in the development of “blighted” neighborhoods, and how was that tied to government policies and legislation? How do you think this story would have been different if redlining and poll taxes were not present, or do you think it would have changed at all? Philosophical Chairs (15-30 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT The prompt: People should not live in dilapidated housing. Urban redevelopment ends blight. The Setup: Students move to opposite ends of the room representing agree or disagree. The debate: Read through the newspaper articles about redevelopment and split into two groups, one for and one against redevelopment. Craft arguments for and against the efforts, based on the information in the articles. Have the students look at the images in the Encyclopedia Virginia story map of Urban Renewal (<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3eec8dec8c334953a11466a0d99b5cb3">https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3eec8dec8c334953a11466a0d99b5cb3</a>). Consider the realities of some of these neighborhoods. Have them also consider the issue of what was being built in place of the dilapidated housing, and who was making the decisions about what would be built and where. Shifting positions: if students are persuaded, they can move to different sides of the room. Reflections: Can the students find a way to compromise between large-scale displacement of residents and the need for safe housing for all citizens? What did students learn about the complicated issues here? Decision Making (15-20 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT The historical problem to address is one of housing shortages and inadequacies, which continue to be serious issues today. Housing issues can also be exacerbated by Virginia's transportation challenges that include overcrowded roads in some communities while others lack pedestrian, bicycle, and public transportation options. After reading through the documents, have the students consider both what did happen and how it could have occurred differently. Had they been city council members, what alternatives could they have proposed, and why would those have been better? FOR A DEEPER DIVE: find examples of debates over revitalization happening in areas near you today and look to see what is being done by leadership and by citizens in these examples. What do your students think of what they’re reading about today, and why? Be the Reporter (20 minutes) VS, USII, VUS Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church was slated to be demolished to make way for the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike. Founded just two years after the Civil War, Sixth Mount Zion was led for many years by Reverend John Jasper, a formerly enslaved man who was famous throughout Virginia for his sermons. Members of the church and community rallied to preserve the church building, which had been built in the 1880s. Read more about John Jasper and the church in Virginia Changemakers (<a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/12" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/items/show/12</a>) and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (<a href="https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0472/" target="_blank" title="link opens in a new tab" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/127-0472/</a>). Look at the photographs in the pdf attached to this lesson plan from March and April 1957, in which Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church is on the left side of the photograph or in the background. Imagine you are a reporter writing an article about the turnpike and its effect on the church and Jackson Ward. How do you think the church building was saved? How would you describe what you see happening around the church in the images. How would you position the images in your article to show the effects of the turnpike. Exit Ticket (10-15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT In three to four sentences, explain what you learned about urban renewal projects in Virginia. In one sentence, explain what you would like to know more about, and why. In two sentences, explain how the knowledge you gained could be used to decide upon current issues facing communities today. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lesson Plan – Urban Renewal in Virginia Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950s African American History Economics Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/be0529a633603fd88f555a89830b6b24.jpg fb6c1e214080fc1be996a2c42f8a3e06 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/cf75e258975cc34005066222439657a4.jpg 9d746ed168a42313531874c1b730051f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/3a687eeb23b83a3cb7c321e804ba2990.pdf 1d1b8fe512c7f83f3bf688283ebb866c Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Virginia's school system had been segregated since it was established in 1870, and had been protected by the Supreme Court's 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that segregation did not violate an individual's equal protection under the law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment so long as accommodations were equal. For decades the doctrine of "separate but equal" enabled Virginia and other southern states to segregate their citizens. In the unanimous Brown v. Board ruling, Chief Justice Earl Warren described segregated schools as "inherently unequal," overturning the precedent set by the 1896 decision. The announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision brought about many reactions from the people of Virginia. There were those who responded with great joy, seeing this as a hard won victory for African Americans and a chance to advance equality. For others, the Court's decision brought about a sense of fear and uncertainty. Newspaper editors reflected these varied reactions. In the Journal and Guide, Norfolk's African American weekly newspaper, P. B. Young described the Brown decision as "a great victory" that affirmed the "unconstitutionality of racial discrimination" in America. Segregationist James J. Kilpatrick, editor of the Richmond News Leader, acknowledged that white Virginians would have to accept the ruling in some form, but stressed that "this is no time for a weak surrender" of the state's right to control its public schools. Citations: P. B. Young, "Time for Wise, Prudent Action," Norfolk Journal and Guide, May 22, 1954, p. 1, and James J. Kilpatrick, "The Decision," Richmond News Leader, May 18, 1954, p. 10. Standards VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Scan the two editorials. What words or phrases stand out to you in each? Explain why. Post Activities Looking at Language: Look at the language used in both editorials. What does it tell you about the person writing each of the editorials? What does it tell you about the audience of the editorials? Form an Opinion: After reading the two editorials, form an opinion about why the reactions to the Brown v Board of Education decision differ? Use evidence from each article to support your opinion. Dig Deeper: Using the Library of Virginia's online newspaper database, <a href="https://virginiachronicle.com/" target="_blank" title="This link opens in a new window." rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Chronicle</a>, look at other newspapers in the days after the Supreme Court decision. How did editors respond in other parts of the state? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Two Virginia Newspapers Respond to the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education Decision, May 1954 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954 African American History https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/e87313b4b50488ea4b72a392c65bc806.jpg ff2341b49cdb922cc1b8f7454d4429a8 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/2d6d376f71d26b70e68561ece45ae0a9.mp3 1c30165ff5f45b2b0c98dcb214881cc2 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/6bbf5692a87ab57455a20eae6c92786e.pdf 1126c82161bec703cdf1b79a0d9a341b https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/4d6b1c654fefbff4c6b1556850f0ffe2.pdf 853bdf3b9422218ee5c8aed044f44a4a https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/b3658a5dd232b33059c425370e612de4.jpg d4d44520ed8a372d94443ff3add42d15 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/2f879709eb211ac55c49b84aad6a973d.jpg 0da75e3cb48c3b011368a0a17f5639f7 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/188611452e2354a1774bba75b20c2241.jpg 363360a9ccf19131da2467a172813097 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/0e1d274eccf486d1963ae48a9c91c075.jpg feaba943ea809bfb21ae3bac0a676d1f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/515a4c08f783c0644cb7025c5fbe20ac.jpg b6dd8d290143f417de73c40c4580ed28 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/1f79485a59edad46854fce6c799e43ac.jpg c8af64f3056e6ba8d34077a85e6dc828 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/063b4e5ddea75895dbcdb85bc6a377b3.jpg 1e6f929a7528b276b1c2837803e163c3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context In 1896 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that racial segregation did not violate the "equal protection of the laws" clause of the <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/online-classroom/stc/units/the-fourteenth-amendment">Fourteenth Amendment</a>. Virginia and other southern states employed the doctrine of "separate but equal" to enforce segregation in public places, including schools. Schools for Black students never received equal funding from cities and counties in the commonwealth, and their facilities were inferior. On May 17, 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled in <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/online-classroom/stc/units/education">Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas</a> that segregation in schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. In fact, the Supreme Court established that separate facilities were "inherently unequal," no matter the state or condition of the segregated school. Initially Governor Thomas B. Stanley reacted cautiously to the Supreme Court's ruling and spoke of his plan to meet with white and Black leaders to determine how to carry out integration in Virginia's schools. However, he quickly succumbed to pressure to resist school integration from U.S. Senator <a href="https://old.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Byrd_Harry_Flood_1887-1966">Harry F. Byrd</a>, white community organizations such as the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties, and Richmond News Leader editor James J. Kilpatrick, who publicly argued that the state had a right to "interpose" itself between its citizens and the enforcement of federal laws including Supreme Court decisions. On August 27, 1956, Stanley spoke to a special session of the General Assembly. He urged the assembly members to pass legislation that would prevent schools in Virginia from integrating and to include provisions that would remove state funding from any school or school system that attempted to integrate. The General Assembly passed a law that denied state funding to any public schools where Black and white students were taught in the same classroom. It created a <a href="https://uncommonwealth.lva.virginia.gov//blog/2013/09/04/what-did-you-learn-in-school-today-the-records-of-the-virginia-pupil-placement-board/">pupil placement board</a> that forced all Black students to apply to attend white schools, which deliberately slowed down the integration process. In 1958 the governor closed schools in Charlottesville, Front Royal, and Norfolk when they attempted to integrate in violation of state law. These policies, collectively defined as "Massive Resistance," effectively thwarted any attempts at integration. These laws were overturned by the federal district court and the Virginia Supreme Court in January 1959, but school integration progressed slowly in Virginia. Prince Edward County officials closed public schools entirely for five years rather than integrate. Other school districts ignored court orders until the 1968 Supreme Court decision in Charles C. Green et al. v. County School Board of New Kent County, Virginia required localities to demonstrate actual progress in desegregating their schools. Even then, integration continued to proceed slowly and often only after a specific local court order was handed down. In this audio clip excerpted from his 1956 speech to the General Assembly, Governor Stanley claimed that the responses he received from Virginians from all walks of life unanimously supported the idea that integration should be prevented. However, Virginians who supported integration also wrote to the governor between 1954 and 1956. This group of selected letters to Stanley represent the many voices that were left unheard in his speech. Citations: Governor Thomas B. Stanley Speech Before a Special Session of the Virginia General Assembly, 27 August 1956 (WRVA-160), WRVA Radio Collection, Accession 38210, Library of Virginia. These recordings are for educational use and permission must be requested in writing from WRVA to reproduce any sound recordings. Excerpt is 4 minutes long. Letters in Governor Thomas B. Stanley Executive Papers, Accession 25184, Box 110 (Integration folders, 1954, 1955, 1956), State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia. Find additional information about school desegregation and Massive Resistance in these related Document Bank entries: <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/207">Governor Stanley's Address to Virginians after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education Decision, May 17, 1954</a> <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/206">Interposition and Massive Resistance, 1955</a> <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/202">Lindsay Almond School Integration Speech, January 20, 1959</a> <a href="https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/items/show/204">Robert Kennedy, Visit to Prince Edward County Schools, May 11, 1964</a> Learn more about <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/massive-resistance/">Massive Resistance</a> in Encyclopedia Virginia. Standards VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Goals and Guiding Principles Students will be able to explain the social and political events resulting from the Brown v. Board decision. They will be able to identify some of the goals of Massive Resistance. They will understand how some Virginians denounced Massive Resistance, and how those individuals participated in civic discourse with civility through expressing themselves in print to help bring an end to Massive Resistance. Students will understand the relationship between state and local governments, and how civil rights were protected by the courts and ultimately by federal law. Suggested Questions Timeline Plotting (15 minutes) VS, USII, CE Plot a timeline using the events of desegregation and massive resistance found at Encyclopedia Virginia's entry on Desegregation in Public Schools (<a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/desegregation-in-public-schools/">https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/desegregation-in-public-schools/</a>) and incorporate Stanley's speech and the letters you have read. What do you think about the length of time between the events? Given the fact that those in favor of desegregation did not have immediate success, do you think their efforts were valuable? Why or why not? Decision Making (15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT These individuals all wrote letters to the governor to share their opinions about school desegregation. What other actions could they have taken to help promote the court-ordered desegregation of the schools? What efforts, if any, do you think may have had a more immediate effect, and why? Is there anything in these letters that you would have included? Why or why not? Chart It (15 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT Make a table that includes the arguments made by letter writers. In subsequent columns, write down in which letter those arguments appear. How often do the same ideas/arguments occur, and why? Are there similarities between the people or organizations using the arguments, and if so, what are they? What does that tell you about how people were talking and thinking about desegregation at the time? How do these letters challenge what the governor said about Virginians in his speech? Example of the chart: <table> <tbody> <tr> <td> Argument A </td> <td> Letter from </td> <td> Letter from </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Argument B </td> <td> Letter from </td> <td> Letter from </td> <td> Letter from </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Exit Ticket (10 minutes) USII, CE, VUS, GOVT Fill in the rest of these statements: After listening to/reading the governor’s speech and letters I learned _____________________. I was surprised by_______________________________. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lesson Plan – School Desegregation and the Voices Not Heard, 1956 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 African American History Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/1678a5a407ae84b581479a4f7048265b.jpg 5457fffd2b181519ce0989aff0acc766 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/2e3389e8590375a4e2d4c03350836f3d.pdf 41a2ea473e7b81129824770144dc3252 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context Waterways provided the people of the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads regions with access to food, supplies, and transport long before English colonists arrived in 1607. As English settlements displaced and removed Indigenous people from the land near the waterways, the rivers became important to sustaining a growing population of settlers as the transportation of supplies was critical to survival in the early colonial period. The use of these waterways for transportation of people and goods in eastern Virginia continues into the 21st century. The Virginia Ferry Company was formed in the 1930s and ran until 1964 when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened. Originally designed to transport passengers, the ferry service began accommodating vehicles in the 1940s, which increased the volume of tourism in the Eastern Shore. Prior to the ferry's operation, travelers had to drive into Maryland in order to access the North Shore of Virginia. In 1949, the north terminal was moved from Cape Charles to Kiptopeke, which shortened the 85 minute crossing by 20 minutes. The southern end was located in Virginia Beach near Little Creek (now the location of Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek). The commonwealth took over operation of the ferry in 1954. Travel brochures such as this one were a popular means of enticing people to visit the Eastern Shore and Hampton Roads regions. The image and information provided were meant to show the ease of traveling by ferry to areas that were not easily accessed by land routes. The ferry lines made visitation to previously difficult-to-reach locations possible, transforming the region into a hub for transportation and tourism. Citation: Fastest North & South Highway via Kiptopeke Beach-Norfolk (Little Creek) Ferry, Library of Virginia, Manuscripts and Special Collections, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia. Standards Social Studies: 1.6, 2.13, VS.13, USII.9, VUS.17 Science: ES.6, K.4, K.11, 3.8, 4.3, 4.8, 6.6, 6.8 Art: 4.1, 5.1 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Look at It: Look at the image on the travel brochure. What do you think it was meant to do? Who might be the desired customer for a ferry trip across the Chesapeake Bay? What does this brochure tell you about the use of automobiles in America at the time? Post Activities STEM Stat: The Eastern Shore, Hampton Roads, and Tidewater regions have long been known for an abundance of waterways which lead to the Chesapeake Bay. There exists an adage that ”water is life.” Consider why early colonists and indigenous peoples chose to live close to waterways like the Chesapeake Bay. What natural resources could be found along the Chesapeake Bay watershed? Current Connection: The Ferry line ceased operations in 1964 when the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was opened. How did the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel change the economy of the region? How does it continue to shape the local economy today? Artistic Exploration: Recreate the travel brochure and include images which might have been of interest to a tourist in the 1940s-1960s who wanted to travel to the Eastern Shore. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Virginia Ferry Company, Travel Brochure, circa 1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Economics Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/e9e976b4b41b3502d13948b76521be72.jpg 9df9c03ed186290507b79c816c76972f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/8e4218fafb461dd8d5caacc2fc8c0bca.pdf 8892a1d28af2bda70caf6dce78f54628 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context Black men gained the right to vote when the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1870. Later in the 19th century, white men in Virginia passed laws requiring the payment of poll taxes. A new state constitution in 1902 strengthened those restrictions and disfranchised more than 90 percent of Black men. So as not to violate the Fifteenth Amendment that prohibited discriminating against eligible voters "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," the 1902 constitution's provisions made no reference to race. This poll tax, which accrued for three years if a citizen did not pay, resulted not only in the disfranchisement of Black men, but als almost 50 percent of white male voters as well. When women gained the right to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, Black women in Virginia faced the same restrictions, and far fewer Black women than white women were able to register to vote. During World War II and in the 1950s, Black Virginians held numerous voter registration drives around the state and encouraged citizens in their communities to pay their poll taxes. Some filed lawsuits against local registrars to challenge the constitutionality of poll taxes. It was not until 1966 that the United States Supreme Court ruled that the use of poll taxes in any election was unconstitutional in a case brought against the state by several Virginia citizens. This photograph was taken during the 1950s at a time when voting rights were not guaranteed and African Americans were challenging segregation in schools, transportation, and other areas of public life. The sign on the blackboard was probably posted for a lesson on citizenship and the importance of voting in elections. Citation: African American teenagers and teacher in a classroom; A sign reading "Citizenship through voting" is on the blackboard, Lee F. Rodgers photograph collection, Portsmouth Public Library Photograph Collection, online in the Library of Virginia <a href="https://lva.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/collectionDiscovery?vid=01LVA_INST:01LVA&collectionId=81114201140005756&lang=en">Digital Collections Discovery</a>. Standards 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Think About it: What is citizenship? How does voting demonstrate citizenship? Post Activity Form an Opinion: Write a letter to a 1950’s Senator and/or Representative for the state of Virginia from the perspective of one of these students. Explain why the right to vote is important to you and how you are not guaranteed that right (what limitations existed from the 1902 Constitution)? Current Connections: What connections can you make to current changes to voting laws in some states? How does the past impact the present on this issue? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Citizenship Through Voting, Portsmouth, VA, circa 1950’s Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950s African American History Government and Civics Reform Movements https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/2c83c791e63cc02c0dda94f899c43db5.jpg ad36832e37c7bc8315e0d35a9fbdbe9f https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/14a337be07338e5ac1375468d6131c6b.pdf 58e37e5d005ae768bc20f36fd8d72ced Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context After the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that school segregation was unconstitutional in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia's white political leaders at the state and local levels led a Massive Resistance movement, even threatening to close public schools rather than desegregate. Governor Thomas B. Stanley backed legislation in the General Assembly to maintain so-called "separate but equal" schools. The reactions by Virginians to Brown v. Board varied—while some approved the decision enthusiastically, there were many who bitterly opposed it. Members of the NAACP in Warren County sued to desegregate the high school in Front Royal, and in September 1958 a federal district court judge ordered that Black students be admitted to Warren County High School. Governor J. Lindsay Almond closed the school, as well as others in Charlottesville and Norfolk that had also been ordered to desegregate. A total of nine schools were closed, locking out nearly 13,000 students. In January 1959, a federal district court declared Virginia's massive resistance laws unconstitutional based on the “equal protection” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals declared that they violated the state constitution. In February, twenty-three Black students integrated the high school in Warren. Many localities in Virginia continued to resist efforts to desegregate public schools into the 1960s. Alvin and Ainslee Dohme owned Cedarbrook Farm in Warren County, where they raised polled herefords, a breed of hornless beef cattle. Although they did not have children in public schools, they opposed Virginia's policy of Massive Resistance to school desegregation. In February 1959 they wrote to Warren County supervisor Maurice Bowen expressing their opinion that closing public schools to preserve segregation was "traitorous folly and failure in our civic responsibilities." Citation: Letter from Ainslee B. Dohme and Alvin R. L. Dohme, Front Royal, to Maurice Bowen, Front Royal. February 26, 1959. Warren County Board of Supervisors, Petitions and Letters For and Against Public School Integration, February–March 1959, Accession 39750. Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia. <a href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/massive-resistance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">For more information on Massive Resistance, see Encyclopedia Virginia.</a> Standards VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Scan the document. What words and phrases stand out to you? Why? Post Activity Analyze: Do you think this letter is effective? How would you make their point stronger? Think About It: Imagine you are a student where schools were closed. How would you feel? Why would you feel this way? Explain. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Letter from Ainslee B. and Alvin R.L. Dohme, Front Royal, 1959 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 26, 1959 African American History Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/3034ab2edc1c33f54a00d001885a2216.mp3 f0602bc8a4e706b41a10918a442aaf9b https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/63b252ad098fff48c3c1561eacb0d084.pdf f66b50095a6980cd544c25ef7929f381 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context On May 17, 1954, after nearly two decades of legal challenges against racial segregation in public schools and higher education, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas that school segregation was unconstitutional. The decision paved the way for the desegregation of educational institutions. Prior to Brown v. Board of Education decision, legal segregation had existed under the "separate but equal" doctrine as established by the Supreme Court's 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate facilities for white and Black Americans did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. However, the separate educational facilities the southern states provided for African American students were inferior, not equal, to those designed for white students. On the day of the Supreme Court ruling, Governor Thomas B. Stanley addressed Virginians over Richmond radio station WRVA. In these brief remarks, he urged Virginians to remain calm while political leaders worked to take appropriate action. He expressed a desire to meet with white and Black leaders to discuss the issue. However, Governor Stanley's moderate response did not last long. Some white Virginians wrote to him demanding that school segregation continue, and some Virginia politicians, including United States Senator Harry F. Byrd, made it clear that the state would not accept desegregation. Stanley created a commission composed of 32 white men to respond to the Brown decision. The commission created a pupil placement plan that would enable cities and counties to severely limit school desegregation if they chose to, but it was not adopted. Instead, in 1956 Virginia's General Assembly adopted a policy of Massive Resistance to desegregation, using the law and courts to avoid complying with the Supreme Court's mandate to integrate. Citation: Governor Thomas B. Stanley Response to the United States Supreme Court Decision in Brown v. Board of Education. May 17, 1954 (WRVA–344). WRVA Radio Collection, Accession 38210, Library of Virginia. These recordings are for educational use and permission must be requested in writing from WRVA to reproduce any sound recordings. Related Document Bank entries: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/294">Governor Stanley's Address to the General Assembly, August 27, 1956, and the Voices Not Heard</a> <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/206">Interposition and Massive Resistance, 1955</a> Standards VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Think about It: The concept of desegregating schools was controversial during the1950s and 1960s in Virginia. Based on your reading and studies, why do you think this was the case? List two or three possible reasons. Post Activities Social Media Spin: Create a social media post that you would have shared if you were an organization leader or supporter of school integration. Be the Journalist: Imagine you are a reporter covering Governor Stanley’s response in 1954. What questions you would ask him? Why? Listen to the Language: Listen to Governor Stanley's 1954 address to Virginians and his 1956 address to the General Assembly. What is different about his two speeches? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Governor Stanley's Address to Virginians after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education Decision, May 17, 1954 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1954 African American History Government and Civics https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/024f843e5a1e6111511b24b8857f2bfb.jpg 8598e03959dfe842ef3662b809cca3ac https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/fc8c6ee812a8f3790b07295b81627a06.jpg ee111b4fbeb9374faee1d4cec4e9fab8 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/2b4132356bc505a3b9706952c56be79b.jpg 4057a1f72eb92ffe1fed7b7983a06e38 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/dbva/files/original/525c213b04866427aad8d8127b1741ed.pdf 223f8d35a76297aed62e069a7daa7f71 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Postwar United States Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1945 - 1970s Description An account of the resource The era following World War II brought about vast changes, not only in foreign policy, but in economics and a changing civic landscape. The liberalism of the New Deal era grew into movements towards increasing civil liberties and economic opportunities, particularly for underrepresented communities and women. Protests became more common as groups demanded equal rights and voting equality. These movements were juxtaposed with Jim Crow laws and the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. The Cold War pitted the United States and its allies in NATO against the Soviet Union and other communist nations, particularly China, Korea, and Vietnam. During this period campaigns were fought not only on the battleground, but in the political arena and social consciousness as well. The fall of the Nazi regime opened the door to the Iron Curtain and Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe. Through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan the U.S. sought to halt the spread of communism further west. The defeat of Japan enabled previously occupied counties the chance to choose new leaders, many of whom sided with communism over capitalism. The United States would spend much of this period adhering to the “Domino Theory” foreign policy to contain the spread of communism. Learn more in the <a title="This external link will open in a new window." href="http://www.nchs.ucla.edu/history-standards/us-history-content-standards/united-states-era-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National U.S. History Content Standards</a> Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Context When the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling on May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, it declared that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. The ruling overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine that had enabled Virginia and other southern states to maintain inferior schools for African American students. The court’s decision would make those separate school systems illegal and demand sweeping social changes in how African Americans were treated. Not all Virginians approved of these changes. Richmond News Leader editor James J. Kilpatrick worked behind the scenes with state officials to prevent desegregation and published many editorials in his newspaper urging white Virginians to resist the court’s order, which he denounced as an unconstitutional decree. He revived the 19th century doctrine of interposition—interposing, or placing, the power of the state government between its people and the federal government—to argue that Virginia had the right to defy the Supreme Court. He published a series of editorials about interposition late in 1955. On November 22, Kilpatrick explained why he believed Virginia had the right of interposition to prevent desegregation. In another editorial published on November 29, he used historical examples to justify his argument that Virginia’s heritage and tradition required the state to take the lead in opposing “the Federal Government’s encroachments” on the powers of the states. Political leaders like U. S. Senator Harry F. Byrd and Governor Thomas B. Stanley employed Kilpatrick’s arguments to bolster their efforts to prevent school integration. The General Assembly adopted a resolution of interposition in February 1956, although it had no binding effect. Later that month, Senator Harry Byrd called for massive resistance to desegregation, which the governor and the General Assembly put into effect through legislation passed later that year. Citation: James J. Kilpatrick, "The Right of Interposition," Nov. 22, 1955, and "Interposition Now," Nov. 29, 1955, in Richmond News Leader, Library of Virginia. Related Document Bank entries: <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/294">Governor Stanley's Address to the General Assembly, August 27, 1956, and the Voices Not Heard</a> <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/items/show/97">Harry F. Byrd, Painting on Canvas, 1953</a> Standards VS.11, USII.8, CE.6, CE.7, CE.9, VUS.16, VUS.17, GOVT.10, GOVT.11 Suggested Questions Preview Activity Scan It: Scan the document. What words and phrases stand out to you? Why? Post Activities Analyze: Why do you think opponents of Brown v. Board of Education used the idea of interposition? Could this be used for other arguments as well? What do you think about this argument, and why? Think About it: Why do you think some Virginians supported massive resistance and interposition? Explain. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Interposition and Massive Resistance, 1955 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 1955 African American History Government and Civics