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 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html