Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?

Subject: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: CapriUni
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 05:32 PM

Growing up in the Northeast, I never learned about this in school. But anniversaries with a 0 at the tail end, especially if they have a multiple of 5 at the head, tend to bring these things to light.

Fifty years ago today, six local public schools were shut down completely (as were other public schools across the state, through the month of September), just to keep 17 black students from attending white public schools. This was called "Massive Resistance" by Virginia Governor Almond. Whites were allowed to open private, all-white "academies," and black kids were denied an education altogether.

Today, Norfolk officials announced plans to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the reopening and ingregation of those schools to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 80th birthday.

Here post about "Massive Resistance" in the Encyclopedia Virginia blog.

What I'm wondering is: Were there any songs (on either side) specific to this historical event in Virginia?

Subject: RE: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: Amos
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 07:22 PM

Remarkable. This must have been a highly significant event in 1954, but I never noticed it (and I was all of nine at the time!)



A

Subject: RE: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: CapriUni
Date: 29 Sep 08 - 08:21 PM

Hm. Were you in Virginia at the time? The way news (and history) is reported in this country is rather myoptic. And in our cultural mythos, racism was only really bad in the Deep South, and Virginia is not counted as Deep South.

So what happened in Virginia is forgotten by many, unless you lived through it. And that's why I started this thread.

Subject: RE: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: GUEST,Ken Brock
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 12:57 AM

I lived through it. I was in second grade at the time of massive resistance. At the time, the plan was to integrate junior high and high schools in 1958, and elementary schools a year or two later.
Thus elementary schools were not shut down at all in Norfolk, Va (my home), while the upper grades were shut down. My 8th grade sister went to one of the private academies for a few months, and then somehow transferred to a junior high still open in what is now Chesapeake, VA, though we were not residents.

This was the number one topic of conversation at the time, and I quickly got sick of it. My breakthrough came upon seeing the 1958 re-release of Disney's BAMBI, hearing Thumper say "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nuthin' at all". Which made perfect sense to me then and still does.

BTW my elementary school integrated when I was in 5th grade. My sis went to integrated high school for 9th grade and on.

Subject: RE: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: M.Ted
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 02:39 AM

It was in the national news every night, and it was discussed at many dinner tables. I lived in the North, and Virginia *was* considered "The South" with everything that that entailed.

There was much indignation and outrage about racism and segregation in "The South"--ironic in the extreme, considering that Blacks in Northern cities were generally segregated into Ghettoes that isolated them even more than they were in the South.

The "Liberal" and "Enlightened" North did not begin attempting integration until into the 1960's and 1970's--and "attempt" is the operant word here. In some cases, especially initially, the resistance was violent, but the greatest resistance was passive--the ghettoes were(and still are) so vast as to be unchanged by even the greatest efforts--

Subject: RE: Virginia's 'Massive Resistance' songs?
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 02:53 AM

Malonee (sp)Junior High in Hopewell Virginia saw integration in 1971. I was in the 8th grade. I was an army brat of sorts so accustomed to being around black people and children whenever I went to nearby Fort Lee. So to me it was no big deal when the this integration occurred.
I do remember being surprised that I was chastised by several white girls I had been in school with since early years for being too friendly with the black girls. I just didn't get it. Fortunately those white girls had never been more than acquaintenances and that is the way things stayed.
What I remeber happily is I disocvered a love for Motown music and those black friends edified this penchant. They had access to so much more than I could get on my little transistor radio.

Ahhh memories. I am glad you started this thread CapriUni.