I've been asked to forward this contribution to the list.The citation
referred to is probably James W. Ely Jr., "Negro Demonstrations and the Law:
Danville as a Test Case," VANDERBILT LAW REVIEW 27 (1974): 927-968.

Brent Tarter
The Library of Virginia
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Visit the Library of Virginia's web site at http://www.lva.lib.va.us




Not sure what you mean by "this type."  Danville was impressive in its
activities that summer--and in the official response--and many years ago
legal historian James Ely published an account (I don't have the cite
handy).

Earlier, however, there were civil rights demonstrations of various sorts
throughout much of Virginia.  The 1960s phase began in the wake of the Feb.
1 sit-in by four NC A&T students in Greensboro (NC) and quickly spread to
other states (as well as elsewhere in NC).

The Richmond Times Dispatch and Richmond Afro American (two good examples)
give detailed accounts of the sit-ins in Richmond that began Feb. 20, 1960,
and led to the arrest of the "Thalhimer 34" on Feb. 22, . . . as well as
actions at lunch counters in Hampton (starting Feb. 11)) and Norfolk (Feb.
12) and at the city library in Petersburg (Feb. 27).  Some establishments
quickly changed their ways, but others did not, so sit-ins continued
through the summer and beyond.  By mid-1963, movie houses were among the
prime targets in Richmond and elsewhere.

In short, a good deal was going on in Virginia of a direct action variety
between February 1960 and passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . . .
though one wouldn't know it from the historiography of the Civil Rights
Movement.  The developments in Danville emerged in that larger context,
whatever may have been unique to that city.

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