In 1951, the courageous Barbara Johns rallied her classmates at Robert R. Moton High School to embark on a strike, bravely protesting against the stark inequality in educational facilities in Prince Edward County, Virginia. This bold demonstration sparked a class-action lawsuit and the landmark Brown v. Board of Education, ultimately leading to the closure of the public school system.
Over the past decade, the dedicated students of Rockingham County Public Schools have been actively involved in the Farmville Tour Guides Project. Each student group selects a specific component of the Farmville story to research and prepare for a spring field trip to Robert R. Moton High School, the very grounds where these significant events unfolded.
As part of this year's event on April 23, student groups from all four high schools developed short documentaries about the other school desegregation cases in Virginia (Norfolk, Arlington, Charlottesville, Davis v. Prince Edward County, and Griffin v. Prince Edward County).
Each group interviewed at least one of the former student plaintiffs in each of the desegregation cases. Rockingham County Schools was particularly honored to have these historic figures join us in Farmville on the 73rd anniversary of the Moton Student Strike.
Photos courtesy of October Grace Media (@octobergracemedia)/ Cindy Fellows:
