thunder during the storm--school desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, 1957-1959: A local history, The

Journal of Negro Education, The, Spring 1998 by Bly, Antonio T

2The school board in Little Rock, Arkansas, had sought to suspend the integration of its public schools by citing fears that the White violence directed toward nine Black students attempting to enter that city's all-White Central High School would escalate beyond control. Attorneys for the NAACP, led by chief counsel (and future Supreme Court judge) Thurgood Marshall, responded to the school board's request by appealing to the Supreme Court. On September 12, 1958, the Court agreed unanimously with the NAACP and denied the school board's request, rendering its argument moot and forcing the Little Rock schools to integrate.

3everal teachers from the city's all-Black schools volunteered to teach the Norfolk 17 in private sessions at First Baptist. Among these teachers were the following, who deserve recognition for their efforts: Katherine Quarles Allen, J. P. Archer, Wade E. Clark, Charles 3Several, Dr. Rudolfo Cejas, Lovella Howard, Myra Iriarte, Eleanor Green Jones, Elizabeth Jones, Pecolia Jones, and Roma B. Jones. Even after the schools were opened to Black students, the teachers and workshop coordinators continued to hold tutoring sessions for the Norfolk 17 because, as noted by Charles Corprew, the White teachers "[piled] work up on the [Black] students" (Charles Corprew, personal communication, December 1, 1995).

REFERENCES

Bell, D. (1979, September/October). Learning from the Brown experience. Black Scholar, 19, 9-16.

Brook, J. I. (1958a, September 25). Full appellate court may hear Norfolk's integration appeal. Virginia Pilot, pp. Al, A10.

Brook, J. I. (1958b, August 30). Six Norfolk schools facing closing threats as board agrees to admit 17 Negro students. Virginia Pilot, p. Al.

Brook, J. I. (1958c, August 30). The school board and the state. Virginia Pilot, p. A4. Brook, J. I. (1958d, September 3). U.S. court will hear school case Thursday. Virginia Pilot, p. A5. Brook, J. I. (1958e, September 25). NAACP seeks court review of 57 Negroes' rejections; Norfolk hearing Saturday. Virginia Pilot, p. Al.

Brook, J. I. (1958f, September 23). School at any cost wanted by students. Virginia Pilot, p. Al. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 349 U.S. 294 (1955). Campbell, E. Q., Bowerman, C. E., & Price, D. O. (1960). When a city closes its schools. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, Institute for Research in Social Science. Carter, L. J. (1958a, July 18). Desegregation order will be obeyed here. Virginia Pilot, p. Al, 48. Carter, L. J. (1958b, September 2). Delay in school openings is seen likely in Norfolk. Virginia Pilot, p. Al.

Carter, L. J. (1958c, September 25). Norview students protest. Virginia Pilot, p. Al. Carter, L. J. (1958d, September 26). Teachers resolution on schools delayed by board counsel's plan. Virginia Pilot, p. A7.

Dabney, V. (1971). Virginia: The new dominion. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Education: Public schools-Virginia. (1956, October). Race Relations Law Reporter, 1, 1109-1111. Education: Public schools-Virginia. (1957, February). Race Relations Law Reporter, 2, 46-59. Education: Public schools-Virginia. (1959, Spring). Race Relations Law Reporter, 4, 41-54. Ford, N. P. (1989). The peaceful resolution of Norfolk's integration crisis of 1958-1959. Unpublished master's thesis, Old Dominion University, Richmond, Virginia. Get NAACP group now probing parents. (1957, March 30). Norfolk Journal and Guide, p. 1, 2.