DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/NRCQ-5A84
Defense Date
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. John T. Kneebone
Abstract
Virginia's Pupil Placement Board was the most enduring vestige of the state's "massive resistance" movement in the 1950s. Following the example of other Southern states, the state's General Assembly passed the Pupil Placement Act in 1956 as part of a package of legislation designed to counteract the Supreme Court desegregation ruling. The Act, and the Pupil Placement Board that enforced it, lasted a decade, much longer than any of the other legislative initiatives born during that session, longer than the massive resistance movement itself.Whites, including many of Virginia's leaders, considered the Board to be ineffective at stemming the onslaught of integration, while African-Americans felt that the agency breeched their constitutional rights. From its inception to its dissolution in 1966, the Pupil Placement Board had to defend itself in a slew of desegregation cases all over Virginia, and the General Assembly changed the law several times to comply with court orders. Despite this adversity, the Board was consistently effective in stemming desegregation in Virginia throughout its tenure.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
June 2008