Robert Russa Moton Museum
Encyclopedia
Robert Russa Moton Museum in the town of Farmville
in Prince Edward County, Virginia
is a museum which serves as a center for the study of civil rights
in education.
It is housed in the former R. R. Moton High School, also known as Robert Russa Moton High School or Farmville Elementary School, notable as the site of a historic civil rights action by the students of a segregated public school. Their initiative ultimately became part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education
case decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1954.
Both the school and the museum were named for Robert Russa Moton
(1867–1940), a noted African-American educator from central Virginia who was a protégé of Dr. Booker T. Washington
. In the early 20th century, Moton headed the schools which became Hampton University
and Tuskegee University
, important organizations in producing black teachers and other professionals.
, a case incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education
which ultimately resulted in the desegregation of public schools in the U.S. Among the fives cases decided under Brown, it was the only one initiated by students themselves, after they walked out in 1951 to protest overcrowding and poor conditions at their school under Jim Crow laws
.
The all-black R.R. Moton High School
, named after Robert Russa Moton
, a noted educator from neighboring Amelia County
, did not have a gymnasium, cafeteria, or teachers' restrooms. Due to overcrowding, three plywood buildings had been erected and some students had to take classes in an immobile school bus parked outside. Teachers and students did not have desks or blackboards. The school's requests for additional funds were denied by the all-white school board. In 1951, students, led by Barbara Rose Johns
, staged a walkout in protest of the conditions. The NAACP took up their case only when the students—by a one vote margin—agreed to seek an integrated school rather than improved conditions at their black school. Then, Howard University
-trained attorneys Spottswood Robinson
and Oliver Hill
filed suit.
In Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, a state court rejected the suit, agreeing with defense attorney T. Justin Moore that Virginia was vigorously equalizing black and white schools. The verdict was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Subsequently, it was one of five cases incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case which in 1954 overturned school segregation in the United States as inherently unequal.
As a result of the Brown decision, and as part of the Massive Resistance
policy, in 1959 the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds for the County School Board. They effectively closed all public schools rather than integrate them. Prince Edward County Public Schools remained closed for five years.
A new entity, the Prince Edward Foundation, created a series of private schools to educate the county's white children. These schools were supported by tuition grants from the state and tax credits from the county. Prince Edward Academy, the all-white private, was one of the first such schools in Virginia which came to be called segregation academies.
Black students had to go to school elsewhere or forgo their education altogether. Some got schooling with relatives in nearby communities or at makeshift schools in church basements. Others were educated out of state by groups such as the Society of Friends. In 1963–64, the NAACP-sponsored Prince Edward Free School picked up some of the slack. But some pupils missed part or all of their education for five years.
When the public schools finally reopened in 1964, they were fully integrated. Historians mark that event as the end of Massive Resistance
in Virginia.
In modern times, Prince Edward County Public Schools now operates single Elementary, Middle, and High Schools for all students, regardless of race. They are:
Many of the segregation academies eventually closed; others changed their missions, and eliminated discriminatory policies. Prince Edward Academy was one of these, and was renamed the Fuqua School
.
The former R.R. Moton High School building in Farmville became a community landmark. It was selected to house the Robert Russa Moton Museum. In 1998, it was declared a National Historic Landmark
.
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County....
in Prince Edward County, Virginia
Prince Edward County, Virginia
Prince Edward County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,368. Its county seat is Farmville.-Formation and County Seats:...
is a museum which serves as a center for the study of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
in education.
It is housed in the former R. R. Moton High School, also known as Robert Russa Moton High School or Farmville Elementary School, notable as the site of a historic civil rights action by the students of a segregated public school. Their initiative ultimately became part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
case decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1954.
Both the school and the museum were named for Robert Russa Moton
Robert Russa Moton
Robert Russa Moton was an African American educator and author. He served as an administrator at Hampton Institute and was named principal of Tuskegee Institute in 1915 after the death of Dr. Booker T. Washington, a position he held for 20 years until retirement in 1935.-Youth, education,...
(1867–1940), a noted African-American educator from central Virginia who was a protégé of Dr. Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
. In the early 20th century, Moton headed the schools which became Hampton University
Hampton University
Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It was founded by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.-History:...
and Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund...
, important organizations in producing black teachers and other professionals.
History
Prince Edward County is the source of Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward CountyDavis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County
Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County was one of the five cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1954, officially overturned racial segregation in U.S. public schools...
, a case incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
which ultimately resulted in the desegregation of public schools in the U.S. Among the fives cases decided under Brown, it was the only one initiated by students themselves, after they walked out in 1951 to protest overcrowding and poor conditions at their school under Jim Crow laws
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
.
The all-black R.R. Moton High School
R.R. Moton High School
R. R. Moton High School was built in 1939 by Prince Edward County for Negro children, in the colonial-revival style common to school buildings in that era. It replaced several smaller one-room schools scattered around the County....
, named after Robert Russa Moton
Robert Russa Moton
Robert Russa Moton was an African American educator and author. He served as an administrator at Hampton Institute and was named principal of Tuskegee Institute in 1915 after the death of Dr. Booker T. Washington, a position he held for 20 years until retirement in 1935.-Youth, education,...
, a noted educator from neighboring Amelia County
Amelia County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,400 people, 4,240 households, and 3,175 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile . There were 4,609 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, did not have a gymnasium, cafeteria, or teachers' restrooms. Due to overcrowding, three plywood buildings had been erected and some students had to take classes in an immobile school bus parked outside. Teachers and students did not have desks or blackboards. The school's requests for additional funds were denied by the all-white school board. In 1951, students, led by Barbara Rose Johns
Barbara Rose Johns
Barbara Rose Johns was a young American civil rights hero who in 1951, at the age of 16, campaigned for the integration of Moton High School in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia. After she appealed to the NAACP for legal representation, her suit became part of the historic 1954 United...
, staged a walkout in protest of the conditions. The NAACP took up their case only when the students—by a one vote margin—agreed to seek an integrated school rather than improved conditions at their black school. Then, Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
-trained attorneys Spottswood Robinson
Spottswood William Robinson III
Spottswood William Robinson III was an educator, civil rights attorney and judge.In the early 1950s, Robinson and his law-partner Oliver Hill litigated several civil rights lawsuits in Virginia. In 1951, Robinson and Hill took up the cause of the African American students at the segregated R.R...
and Oliver Hill
Oliver Hill
Oliver White Hill, Sr. was a civil rights attorney from Richmond, Virginia. His work against racial discrimination helped end the doctrine of "separate but equal." He also helped win landmark legal decisions involving equality in pay for black teachers, access to school buses, voting rights, jury...
filed suit.
In Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, a state court rejected the suit, agreeing with defense attorney T. Justin Moore that Virginia was vigorously equalizing black and white schools. The verdict was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Subsequently, it was one of five cases incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case which in 1954 overturned school segregation in the United States as inherently unequal.
As a result of the Brown decision, and as part of the Massive Resistance
Massive resistance
Massive resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956, to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision...
policy, in 1959 the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds for the County School Board. They effectively closed all public schools rather than integrate them. Prince Edward County Public Schools remained closed for five years.
A new entity, the Prince Edward Foundation, created a series of private schools to educate the county's white children. These schools were supported by tuition grants from the state and tax credits from the county. Prince Edward Academy, the all-white private, was one of the first such schools in Virginia which came to be called segregation academies.
Black students had to go to school elsewhere or forgo their education altogether. Some got schooling with relatives in nearby communities or at makeshift schools in church basements. Others were educated out of state by groups such as the Society of Friends. In 1963–64, the NAACP-sponsored Prince Edward Free School picked up some of the slack. But some pupils missed part or all of their education for five years.
When the public schools finally reopened in 1964, they were fully integrated. Historians mark that event as the end of Massive Resistance
Massive resistance
Massive resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956, to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision...
in Virginia.
In modern times, Prince Edward County Public Schools now operates single Elementary, Middle, and High Schools for all students, regardless of race. They are:
- Prince Edward Elementary School
- Prince Edward Middle School
- Prince Edward High School
Many of the segregation academies eventually closed; others changed their missions, and eliminated discriminatory policies. Prince Edward Academy was one of these, and was renamed the Fuqua School
Fuqua School
Fuqua School is a private primary and secondary school located in Farmville, Virginia. It is named after J.B. Fuqua, who made a large contribution to the school in 1992 to save it from financial insolvency...
.
The former R.R. Moton High School building in Farmville became a community landmark. It was selected to house the Robert Russa Moton Museum. In 1998, it was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.