On June 26, 1959, the Prince Edward County, Virginia Board of Supervisors refused to appropriate funds to the County School Board, effectively closing the entire public school system rather than comply with federal court orders to integrate. This action represented the most extreme manifestation of …
Prince Edward County Board of SupervisorsVirginia General AssemblyHarry Byrdcivil-rightsinstitutional-racismmassive-resistanceeducationdemocratic-erosion
In June 1959, the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors votes not to appropriate any money to operate public schools, choosing to close all public schools rather than comply with federal desegregation orders. The public schools in Prince Edward County remain closed from 1959 to 1964—the only …
Prince Edward County Board of SupervisorsPrince Edward County School BoardVirginia political establishmentmassive-resistanceschool-closureprince-edward-countysegregation-academieseducational-denial
Following Senator Harry F. Byrd’s February 24, 1956 call for “massive resistance” to avoid implementing public school integration in Virginia, the Byrd Organization-controlled Virginia General Assembly passes a series of laws in September 1956 known as the Stanley Plan (after …
Harry F. ByrdThomas Bahnson StanleyVirginia General AssemblyByrd Organizationmassive-resistancestanley-planschool-closure-lawsbyrd-organizationvirginia-segregation
In March 1956, the Mississippi Legislature creates the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (MSSC), a state agency tasked with fighting integration and controlling civil rights activism. Active from 1956 to 1973 and directed by the governor and other top elected officials, the Commission employs …
Mississippi LegislatureRoss BarnettMississippi State Sovereignty CommissionWhite Citizens' Councilsmassive-resistancegovernment-surveillancestate-sovereignty-commissioncitizens-councils-fundingcivil-rights-suppression
On March 12, 1956, as the second anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education approaches, Senator Walter F. George rises in the U.S. Senate to announce the latest weapon in the segregationist arsenal—the “Declaration of Constitutional Principles,” known as the Southern Manifesto. Senator …
Walter F. GeorgeHarry F. ByrdStrom Thurmond19 U.S. Senators82 U.S. Representativesmassive-resistancesouthern-manifestocongressional-obstructionstates-rightsconstitutional-defiance
On February 6, 1956, the University of Alabama expelled Autherine Lucy, its first Black student, after a three-day white supremacist riot made her presence on campus untenable. University officials blamed Lucy for the violence and used her NAACP-supported lawsuit challenging her suspension as …
On May 31, 1955, one year after declaring school segregation unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court issued Brown II, its implementation ruling. Rather than setting firm deadlines or providing specific remedies, the Court ordered desegregation proceed “with all …
Earl WarrenU.S. Supreme CourtNAACP Legal Defense FundThurgood MarshallSouthern state governmentscivil-rightssegregationjudicialdemocratic-erosionmassive-resistance
Two months after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Mississippi Circuit Court Judge Tom P. Brady delivers a strident speech opposing integration that is later expanded into a ninety-page tract titled “Black Monday” and distributed widely as a rallying cry for organized white …
Robert B. PattersonTom P. BradyWhite Citizens' CouncilsMississippi business classMississippi State Sovereignty Commissionmassive-resistancewhite-citizens-councilssegregation-infrastructurebusiness-backingcivil-rights-opposition