The Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries is pleased to announce a
new online exhibit, "Separate But Not Equal: Race, Education, and Prince

Edward County, Virginia."

The exhibit is available to see today, the 50th anniversary of the
African American student strike in Prince Edward County to protest the
conditions of their school facilities.  This
strike led to a lawsuit that became part of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court
Brown v. Board of Education decision that ruled racial segregation in
public schools as unconstitutional.  To avoid desegregation, the Prince
Edward County School Board closed their schools for five years, which
attracted national and international attention.

This exhibit explores the history of Prince Edward County's school
segregation issues prevalent during the 1950s and 1960s. The materials
presented were taken from the papers of Dr. Edward H. Peeples, professor
Emeritus at VCU, whose interest in the topic spans four decades. Dr.
Peeples' papers are housed in James Branch Cabell Library's Special
Collections and Archives department.

The web site is comprised of over 100 images taken in the early 1960s by

Dr. Peeples that document the disparity between the county's black and
white schools. These images are supported by documents concerning
segregation written by Dr. Peeples and others, a select bibliography,
and links to relevant Internet sites.

The web based exhibit created by staff members from VCU Libraries'
Special Collections Archives department.  It can be accessed from this
URL:

http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/exhibits/



--
Ray Bonis
Assistant Archivist
James Branch Cabell Library
VCU Libraries

Phone: (804) 828-1108
FAX:  (804) 828-0151
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/speccoll.html

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