Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County

This long chapter summarizes the Prince Edward County school controversy that led to the closing of the public schools. It begins in 1951, when the county was completely segregated; black and white students attended separate schools.

The black school, built in 1939, soon became overcrowded. In little more than a decade, Green writes, “a school that was originally constructed for 180 students was squeezing 477 into its eight classrooms” (38). Despite pleas at school board meetings, the county refused to do anything until 1948, when a few classrooms were added on to the existing building. These additions, Green writes, looked like chicken coops; they were constructed out of tar paper and heated in winter with potbelly stoves burning coal. The effort was inadequate. Classes continued to be held in the auditorium, outside in nice weather, and even in parked school buses. Meanwhile, the white students had a brick school with plenty of room and many amenities.

In 1951, a junior at the all-black Moton High School led an effort to change education inequity in Farmville that would have far-ranging consequences. Barbara Johns knew that the adults’ efforts to secure a new school for black students had failed.