Gray Commission facts for kids
The Commission on Public Education, also known as the VPEC or Gray Commission, was a group of 32 people formed in Virginia. It was named after its leader, Virginia state senator Garland Gray. Governor Thomas B. Stanley created this commission on August 23, 1954. Its main job was to study what would happen after the U.S. Supreme Court made important decisions in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. These decisions, made on May 17, 1954, and May 31, 1955, said that schools could not be separated by race anymore. The commission was asked to suggest what Virginia should do next.
Why the Commission Was Formed
Virginia's Reaction to School Integration
Even before the commission was set up, Governor Stanley had said he was against the Brown decision. He was a friend of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd. Senator Byrd led a powerful political group called the Byrd machine. This group had controlled Virginia politics for a long time. Senator Byrd became very strongly against mixing races in schools. He believed it was wrong to mix races.
Early Responses to the Court's Decision
The day after the first Brown decision, Governor Stanley asked for "cool heads" and "calm study." He said he would talk to Senator Byrd. At first, Byrd didn't seem to be strongly for or against the decision. But soon, the governor's office received many letters. People were worried about communist plots and races mixing. Governor Stanley promised that schools would stay separated for the 1954–1955 school year.
Leaders Against Integration
On June 20, 1954, twenty lawmakers from southern Virginia met in a firehouse in Petersburg, Virginia. State Senator Garland Gray called this meeting. They announced they were "unalterably opposed" to mixing races in schools. This group included U.S. Congressmen Watkins Abbitt and William M. Tuck. State senators Gray, Mills Godwin, and Albertis Harrison were also there.
Governor Stanley's Promise
On June 25, 1954, Governor Stanley met with other southern governors. He learned about the Petersburg meeting. He then promised, "I shall use every legal means at my command to continue segregated schools in Virginia." Virginia's state constitution (Section 140) had a rule that allowed separate schools for different races. Stanley suggested getting rid of another part of the constitution (Section 129). This part said the state had to provide free public schools. Some people who strongly supported segregation even wanted to close public schools. They thought this would stop integration. However, this idea worried many other Virginians.
Who Was on the Commission?
Governor Stanley chose 32 lawmakers for the commission on August 30, 1954. All of them were white men. The Virginia Council of Churches had asked Stanley to pick people of different races. But he said that a commission of lawmakers would be better. This was because lawmakers would have to vote on the ideas later. A Republican leader, Ted Dalton, also wanted a commission with people of different races and political parties. He hoped they could work out a plan for desegregation.
The governor chose people from areas with many Black residents. These areas would be most affected by the Supreme Court's decisions. For example, ten members came from the 4th and 5th U.S. Congressional districts. These districts were strongholds for the Byrd machine. Many counties there had more Black residents than white. However, laws like poll taxes and Jim Crow laws limited Black people's ability to vote. Later that year, white leaders in these areas formed a group called the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties. This group became very strong in its opposition to integration.
The commission first met on September 13, 1954. Members chose Gray as their chairman. Gray then picked a smaller group of eleven members to lead. The full commission decided that all their meetings would be private. They would not be open to the public. However, they could hold public hearings.
Commission's Work and Report
Public Hearings and Early Findings
The Gray Commission held only one public hearing. This long meeting lasted eleven hours. It happened on November 14, 1954, in Richmond. More than a hundred people spoke at this hearing.
In January 1955, the commission released an early report. It said that many people were against integration. The report promised to create a plan to stop forced integration in Virginia's public schools. Basically, the commission believed that the Brown decision was both a bad law and bad for society.
The Final Report's Suggestions
The Supreme Court issued Brown II on May 31, 1955. In this decision, the Court told school districts to desegregate schools "with all deliberate speed."
Six months later, on November 11, 1955, the Gray Commission released its final report. This report was 18 pages long. It came out just four days after the Virginia Supreme Court made a decision in a different case. That decision said that state money could not be used to support private schools.
The commission's final ideas included:
- Changing the state law about going to school. This way, white parents would not have to send their child to a school with mixed races.
- Creating "pupil placement boards" in local areas. These boards could decide which public school a student would attend. They would consider things like how many spots were available, health, and the student's abilities. They would also think about what was best for other students.
- Starting a program to give money for tuition. This money would help parents send their children to private schools. This was for parents who did not want their children to go to a school with mixed races.
Challenges and Outcomes
Disagreements and New Plans
Even Senator Gray, the commission's leader, stopped supporting the plan. This was because the plan allowed local areas to choose if they wanted to integrate. Many people who strongly supported segregation wanted any public school that allowed integration to be closed.
On November 14, 1955, Governor Stanley called a special meeting of the Virginia General Assembly. This meeting started on November 30, 1955. Virginia voters strongly approved a plan to change the state constitution on January 9, 1956. This change was needed to allow money for private school tuition.
The Gray Commission met again in May 1956. But they did not make any new suggestions. Both strong segregation supporters and those who wanted a middle ground started to oppose the original Gray Commission plan. This happened especially after newspapers criticized it a lot. Also, in July 1956, federal judges ordered schools in Norfolk, Arlington, and Charlottesville to integrate.
The Stanley Plan and Court Cases
The Gray Commission's executive committee worked with the state's attorney general, J. Lindsay Almond. They created a more extreme plan called the Stanley Plan. An early version of this plan was not approved by the full commission in July 1956. However, a new version was passed by a vote of 19 to 12 on August 22. Governor Stanley called another special meeting of the legislature. This meeting started on August 27 and eventually passed the Stanley Plan.
But this strong opposition led to more lawsuits. The existing lawsuits about desegregation continued. On January 19, 1959, both the Virginia Supreme Court and a group of three federal judges found the Stanley Plan unconstitutional. This meant the plan could not be used.
