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Equality Denied: The Christiansburg Institute and Segregated Public Schools in Montgomery County, 1934 to 1966; Speakers: Tom Ewing and Elaine Carter
(Special Event)
From 1934 to 1966, the Christiansburg Institute provided high school education to African American students in Montgomery County. During the Jim Crow era, the strict racial boundaries in Virginia public education ensured that equality was denied to African American children. This presentation will examine the experiences of students, the goals and composition of teachers, and the position of African American institutions in the context of a segregated public school system. The availability and quality of public schooling is a measure of American citizenship. Throughout the twentieth century, segregated schools marked a point of direct conflict between opponents and proponents of fully equal citizenship for African-Americans. During the period covered by this presentation, the campaigns for legal access to schools in Virginia led to the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education Supreme Court decision as well as the Massive Resistance designed to deny fully equal access to schools. The closing of Christiansburg Institute in 1966 followed the integration of regional schools, yet also threatened to erase the memory of a highly successful alternative school system. By exploring questions of citizenship through the history of Montgomery County public schooling, this presentation addresses contemporary questions of access and quality in education. This event is part of a collaborative project between the Christiansburg Institute and the Department of History, supported by a College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Diversity Grant.
This event has been sponsored by: The Christiansburg Institute, Department of History, Black History Month Steering Committee and Multicultural Programs and Services (MPS)
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