Hampden-Sydney College Archives & Special Collections
Prince Edward County Integration Collection
SC.000106
0.5 Linear Feet
27 Digital Image Scans
Digital Collection: Civil Rights Articles from the Hampden-Sydney Tiger Newspaper
34 Digital Image Scans
Digital Collection: College Church Biracial Study Group
1943/1975
The Prince Edward County Integration Collection documents the viewpoints and efforts of county residents regarding the attempted desegregation of Prince Edward County Public Schools. Largely comprised of items donated by the Reverend Richard J. Keever, the collection features contemporaneous newspaper clippings related to the Prince Edward County school closings, as well as the administrative papers of several local human rights groups, such as The Prince Edward Council on Human Relations and the Citizens Organization for Public Education (COPE). Further materials document the history of a bi-racial study group, which met at College Church in 1964, including related local newsletters.
English
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Scope and Contents
The Prince Edward County Integration Collection, largely donated by the Reverend Richard J. Keever, features contemporaneous newspaper clippings related to the Prince Edward County school closings, as well as the administrative papers of several local human rights groups, such as The Prince Edward Council on Human Relations and the Citizens Organization for Public Education (COPE). Further materials document the history of a bi-racial study group, which met at College Church in 1964, including related local newsletters.
Rev. Keever began researching the repercussions of the school closings in the early 1970s with an eye towards a larger project; featured in this collection are his research notes as well as annotated newspaper clippings, and a 1964 thesis by Anthony C. Sherman entitled "Christian Response and a Protracted Racial Crisis: A Study of Prince Edward County, Virginia."
The collection also includes two digital collections: Civil Rights Articles from the Hampden-Sydney Tiger, and the College Church Biracial Study Group. The latter contains scans of materials already found in the physical collections, but the former contains additional scanned clippings from the Hampden-Sydney Tiger not found in the physical collection.
Biographical / Historical Note
The Prince Edward County Integration Collection documents the viewpoints and efforts of county residents regarding the attempted desegregation of Prince Edward County Public Schools. In 1951, students at Robert Russa Moton High School, the local high school for African-Americans, began a protest of inadequate school facilities that was eventually adopted in as one of the cases in the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled that schools segregated by race were "inherently unequal," depriving Black students of "equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment." A later Supreme Court decision in May of 1955 ordered that public schools across the nation desegregate "with all deliberate speed."
Rather than comply with these orders, the leaders of Prince Edward County chose to close all public schools, a decision that lasted from 1959 until 1964. The decision was well-publicized at the time, and was a source of tension throughout the county.
Access to materials
Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Copies of digital files will be provided for use upon request.
Use of these materials
The nature of the Hampden-Sydney College Archives and Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine depsite reasonable efforts. As a result, Hampden-Sydney College claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g. cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning and individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the College assumes no responsibility.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Prince Edward County Integration Collection, SC 000106, Hampden-Sydney College Archives & Special Collections, Hampden-Sydney, VA
Arrangement
The collection is organized chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Richard J. Keever, Hampden-Sydney College
Processing Information
Inventory by: Shaunna Hunter, 2018. Processed by: Sarah Almond, 2021 January. Machine-readable finding aid created from previous inventories by: Sarah Almond, 2021 January.
Related Materials
The Voice of Prince Edward County (SC 000107)
School integration—Massive resistance movement
Civil Rights Movements--United States
Segregation in education
Prince Edward County (Va.)
Hampden-Sydney College
Prince Edward County (Va.)
Annotated Newspaper Clippings and Research NotesArchival Resource Key1943-197411States' Rights Party of Virginia FlyerArchival Resource Key195612Session of College Church CorrespondenceArchival Resource Key1959-196913Miscellaneous Clippings, Richmond News LeaderArchival Resource Key1960-196914"Christian Response and a Protracted Racial Crisis: A Study of Prince Edward County, Virginia" by Anthony C. ShermanArchival Resource Key196415"The Bridge" Newsletter of the College Church Biracial Study Group, Issues 1 through 11Archival Resource Key196416Miscellaneous Clippings, Farmville HeraldArchival Resource Key1964-196917Documents of the Prince Edward Council on Human RelationsArchival Resource Key196518Administrative documents of the Citizens Organization for Public Education (COPE)Archival Resource Key196519Miscellaneous Clippings, Richmond Times DispatchArchival Resource Key1965-1969110Promotional Materials Related to DesegregationArchival Resource Key1965-1974111Miscellaneous Clippings, Various NewspapersArchival Resource Key1965-1975112Miscellaneous Clippings, Hampden-Sydney TigerArchival Resource Key1968-1969113"The G.P," Issue 3Archival Resource Key1969114Miscellaneous Clippings, Virginian-PilotArchival Resource Key1969115Miscellaneous Newspaper Clippings Archival Resource KeyUndated116