Near Farmville in Prince Edward County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Prince Edward County Public Schools

Farmville, Virginia

— Prince Edward County —

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 4, 2021

1. Prince Edward County Public Schools Marker

Inscription. In 1954, after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka that American schools must integrate, Senator Harry S. Byrd and several Virginia governors followed the policy of "massive resistance." Integration was postponed in every way possible, from legal manipulation to simple foot-dragging. In many counties the boards of supervisors, school boards, and other government bodies managed to postpone integration for as long as 15 years. In Prince Edward County, the governing bodies simply closed the schools altogether from 1959 to 1964, rather than complying with the mandate to integrate. White children could attend the newly established Prince Edward Academy. However, many white families couldn't afford or did not feel it was necessary to go to the Academy, and their children received no education. For Black children, a number of "training schools" were set up in churches, homes, and buildings to provide them with a rudimentary education. They were often taught by unpaid, untrained teachers, as salaried teachers went elsewhere looking for work. An organized effort led by Farmville's First Baptist and

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Beulah AME churches resulted in the so-called "Free Schools," in which student volunteers came to town to teach and live with local Black families. In other cases, many children — Black and white — were sent by their parents to live in other counties with friends or relatives to get an education. Others continued working on farms, expecting that the situation would not last longer than a year or so. As a result, many of Prince Edward's youth were denied years of education during the civil rights movement. Members of the "Lost Generation," as it has been called, received an education that was interrupted or never completed. After the schools reopened in 1964, extensive improvements gradually resulted in a 135-acre campus with three schools that provide the county's diverse student population with a quality education.

Erected by Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail. (Marker Number PE5.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 4, 2021

2. Prince Edward County Public Schools Marker

series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1954.

Location. 37° 15.928′ N, 78° 23.947′ W. Marker is near Farmville, Virginia, in Prince Edward County. It is on Zion Hill Road (County Road 628) 0.1 miles west of McLendon Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1366 Zion Hill Rd, Farmville VA 23901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in 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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Robert Russa Moton High School (approx. 1.8 miles away); 1951 Student Walk-Out (approx. 1.8 miles away); Oliver White Hill Sr.

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(approx. 1.8 miles away); Barbara Rose Johns (approx. 1.8 miles away); R.R. Moton High School (approx. 1.8 miles away); Robert Russa Moton High School Timeline (approx. 1.8 miles away); Dr. Barbara Smith (approx. 2.1 miles away); Longwood (approx. 2.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Farmville.

Other markers no longer nearby. Prince Edward County Public Schools (has been replaced with this marker); R. R. Moton High School (was approx. 1.8 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has replaced the linked marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on September 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 6, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 270 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 6, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.