Sam--
It sounds like we're missing an opportunity to mark a milestone in the
history of public education in Virginia. The campaign is noted in a
number of historical works such as Bill Link's history of Virginia
education in that period, as well as in the biography of Edwin Alderman
and other sources. I think, if I recall my North Carolina history
correctly, that there was a similar campaign a little earlier in the Tar
Heel state led by some of the same people who led it in Virginia. When
you're dealing with the history of public education in Virginia, of
course, there is the troubling and tragic existence of racial
segregation. The campaign of 1905 was conducted after the legal
framework of segregation was pretty well established in law. The
resulting disparities are well recorded in Link's book and in an older
study by Louis Harlan. We certainly need to commemorate the goals of the
1905 campaign but not the racial segregation that accompanied it. In
fact, the fight for public schools was a major part of the opposition to
Massive Resistance in the 1950s. One of those leading the fight against
Massive Resistance, Delegate Robert Whitehead of Nelson County, alluded
to the 1905 campaign several times in his speeches and writings.
All Best,
Jim Hershman
Samuel C. Shepherd, Jr. wrote:
>Thanks to Eric Johnson for checking about any signs of commemorations of
>the May Campaign. Of course it's a little disappointing that a state that
>diligently remembers so many events of bygone days should overlook one
>boosting education and progress. Is the 1905 May Campaign even considered
>in Virginia history textbooks used in schools and colleges? We have our
>own challenges in Louisiana, but I expected better from my native state.
>Sam Shepherd, Centenary College
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