Norfolk, the All-American city - in 1959, the year of massive resistance

In Norfolk, the hottest day of the year in 1959 was June 27 when the temperature reached 100 degrees.

The coldest day of 1959 was January 6, with a low temperature of 19°F.

That year, Norfolk was also named All-American city, just as the city was named an All-American city for 2012. City officials celebrated this "super bowl" status last month.

 But some people in the Norfolk community weren't celebrating the city's All-American status in 1959. They were too busy fighting against the integration of schools or fighting for the integration of schools. Or taking their white children from schools and placing them in private schools, precipitating the "white flight" to the suburbs of what eventually morphed into Virginia Beach.

Yet Norfolk was named an All-American city in 1959.

Based on the events of 1959, the judges must have been blind. Or they simply ignored the momentous upheaval of the social, cultural and racial fabric of that year in 1959.  

So this was Norfolk, an All-American city, in 1959, according to a chronology of events.

 On January 19, 1959, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals struck down the linchpin of the Massive Resistance laws, the one closing schools about to be integrated. Here, the decision plugs the barrel of the cannon of Massive Resistance. Courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Accompanied by their mothers, first-grader Mary Rose Foxworth and second-grader Daphne Perminter became the first African American pupils at the previously all-white Suburban Park School in Norfolk when they enrolled on September 8, 1959. Courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch.

 

January 13, 1959

Mayor Duckworth and the City Council move to eliminate funding for all secondary schools, including all black secondary schools. Roy Martin casts the only dissenting vote. The plan is to cease all funding after February 1.

January 19, 1959

A three-judge federal court rules in James v. Almond that the Virginia school-closing statute is unconstitutional and illegal.

Also on this day, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals made the same ruling in Harrison v. Day. The state's constitution requires maintenance of an "efficient" school system.

A second case is filed in state court: Ruth Pendleton James, a minor, etc., et al. v. W. Fred Duckworth, et al. to prevent closing all schools above the 6th grade. The daughter of Ellis and Ruth James is the litigant in both James cases. Archie L. Boswell and Edmund D. Campbell are the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

January 20, 1959

Governor Almond denounces federal court rulings in a fiery speech.

January 21, 1959

CBS broadcasts ''The Lost Class of '59" with Edward R. Murrow, one of the nation's most respected journalists. Unwanted national attention is brought to the Norfolk school desegregation crisis. Margaret White, a teacher at Granby High School, is among those interviewed for the program.

January 26, 1959

100 prominent business leaders take out a full-page advertisement in The Virginian-Pilot urging the reopening of the schools. While it professed preference for segregation, it urged acceptance of the new reality.

January 29, 1959

A cross is burned in front of Norview High School.

February 2, 1959

The six schools reopen, and the 17 black students walk in. There are no federal troops, as in Arkansas. Reporters outnumber police. "Racial slurs are thrown, but not bricks." Massive resistance ends. The 17 students endure unspeakable discrimination and abuse. Yet, their determination and courage pave the way for educational opportunities for other African-American students.

February 5, 1959

Governor Almond appoints the Perrow Commission to make recommendations to safeguard segregated schools in Virginia. Their report was submitted March 31, 1959.

1960

Governor Almond orders all schools to integrate.

Yep, Norfolk is an All-American city.

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