Harrisonburg, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Resilience Amid Resistance

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. Resilience Amid Resistance Marker

Inscription. In July 1956, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education, federal judge John Paul of Harrisonburg issued the first school desegregation order in VA. ruling for the NAACP in a suit against Charlottesville City Public Schools. In Sept. 1958, after two years of appeals in this case, Paul also sided with the NAACP in a suit against Warren Co. Public Schools. In response, Gov. J. Lindsay Almond closed the schools slated to admit the Black student plaintiffs in these two cases. This was the first use of the state's Massive Resistance laws to shutter public schools. The VA Supreme Court and a special federal court declared the closures unconstitutional in Jan. 1959.

Erected 2024 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number A-41.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1956.

Location. 38° 27.028′ N, 78° 52.093′ W. Marker is in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is at the intersection of North Main Street and East Elizabeth Street, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street. The marker is located at the south east corner of the Western District U.S. Courthouse grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 116 N Main St, Harrisonburg VA 22801, United States of America. Touch for directions.

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Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 9-11 Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Lucy Frances Simms (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Urban Water Movement (about 300 feet away); a different marker also named Rockingham County Vietnam Memorial (about 400 feet away); Harrisonburg (about 400 feet away); In Honor of Charles Watson Wentworth (about 500 feet away); Court Square & Springhouse (about 500 feet away); To the Memory of Thomas Harrison (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harrisonburg.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Rockingham County Vietnam Memorial (was about 400 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . .
1. ‘Resilience Amid Resistance’: New marker reveals Virginia’s fraught journey to school integration. (Submitted on May 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. ‘Resilience Amid resistance,’ New historical marker unveiled in Harrisonburg. (Submitted on May 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. Resilience Amid Resistance Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 212 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.