1963-1964 Kennedy Administration effort foreshadowed modern education reform movement
The Moton Museum and Longwood University invite the community to two free, public events on Monday, April 7th, commemorating the 50th anniversaries of the Prince Edward Free Schools and the Griffin v. Prince Edward Supreme Court decision.
7PM at Jarman Hall, Longwood
Join Longwood University president W. Taylor Reveley IV as he moderates an inspring panel featuring:
- Leslie “Skip” Griffin Jr., Griffin plaintiff and son of Civil Rights leader and Farmville, Virginia, minister Rev. L. Francis Griffin Sr.
- Dr. Oliver Hill Jr., Virginia State University psychologist and son of Civil Rights leader, Virginia attorney Oliver Hill Sr.
- Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
- Margot Rogers, former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Education, and Prince Edward County Public Schools graduate
Noon at Moton Museum
Brown’s Battleground author and Associate Director of Gettysburg College Civil War Institute, Dr. Jill Titus, joins UNCG’s Brian Lee and Michigan State’s Dr. Candace Epps-Robertson for an expert historical panel on the Prince Edward Free Schools, moderated by Longwood’s Dr. Larissa Fergeson.
Spearheaded by Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the innovative Free Schools foreshadowed the modern school reform movement and provided free education to students in 1963-64, during the 5-year period when Prince Edward County closed public schools to forestall integration. In Griffin v. Prince Edward (1964), the U.S. Supreme Court ordered county schools to reopen, declaring “the time for mere ‘deliberate speed’ has run out.”
Read more:
Longwood University news release
Richmond Times-Dispatch coverage