Robert Russa Moton Museum facts for kids
| Location | 900 Griffin Boulevard in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia |
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Robert Russa Moton High School
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| Location | Jct. of S. Main St. and Griffin Blvd., Farmville, Virginia |
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1939 |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 95001177 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 24, 1995 |
| Designated NHL | August 5, 1998 |
The Robert Russa Moton Museum is a special place in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia. It used to be the Robert Russa Moton High School. This school is famous because it played a big part in the start of the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Students at the school went on strike to protest unfair conditions. This led to the important 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court case. That case helped end segregation in public schools across the country. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1998. Now, it is a museum that teaches people about this history. In 2022, it became part of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. The school and museum were named after Robert Russa Moton, an important African-American educator.
The old Moton School is a brick building built in 1939. It was built because African-American people in the community fought for better schools. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also helped. The school had six classrooms and an office around a main hall. It did not have a cafeteria or restrooms for teachers. It was built for 180 students. But by the 1940s, it had 450 students. The county, which had an all-white board, would not give money to make the school bigger. So, they built temporary buildings covered with roofing material. People called these the "tar-paper shacks."
The Fight for Civil Rights in Education
Robert Russa Moton High School was a public high school for Black students in Farmville. It opened in 1939 because the Council of Colored Women, led by Martha E. Forrester, pushed for it.
In 1951, a group of students, led by 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns, walked out of school. They were protesting the poor conditions. The NAACP agreed to help them. But the students had to agree to ask for an integrated school, not just better conditions at their Black school. Lawyers Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill filed a lawsuit on May 23, 1951.
The case was called Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County. A state court said no to the lawsuit. They agreed with the defense lawyer that Virginia was making Black and white schools equal. But this decision was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Moton case then became part of Brown v. Board of Education. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" schools were not fair. They ordered public schools to be integrated, meaning Black and white students could go to school together.
In 1953-54, the county built a new high school for African-Americans. This was part of their argument that they were trying to improve schools. The old Moton building then became an elementary school.
The fight to integrate schools in Prince Edward County was one of the longest in the country. The county leaders did not want to integrate. So, they decided to stop funding any public schools. This was part of a statewide effort called Massive Resistance. There were no public schools for five years, from 1959 to 1964.
During this time, the Prince Edward School Foundation created private schools for white children. These schools were called segregation academies. They got money from the state and tax breaks from the county. Prince Edward Academy was one of the first of these schools in Virginia.
Many Black families and students had to leave the county or stop going to school. Some went to live with relatives outside the county. Others went to "training centers" or "grassroots schools" held in Black churches and businesses. Some were sent to live with host families across the state and country. These families were found by local NAACP leaders and other groups.
In 1963–64, the Kennedy Administration helped open the Prince Edward Free Schools. These schools used four county school buildings. In 1964, the Supreme Court made another decision in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County. This decision ordered Prince Edward County Public Schools to reopen and be fully integrated.
The Moton Museum Today
Today, the Moton School reminds us of the important fight for civil rights in education. A 1994 report said Prince Edward County was the only area in the Brown decision to successfully and peacefully integrate its schools.
The museum has exhibits with items from Moton High School. It also has artifacts from the Civil Rights Movement. You can hear stories from former teachers and students. They share their experiences of the student walkout and the school closings. Guides are available to give tours of the museum. In 2013, the Moton Museum finished a big renovation. It opened its first permanent exhibit, "The Moton School Story: Children of Courage."
The museum is also a center for studying civil rights in education. It offers programs to explore the history of school desegregation. It also helps people talk about community relations. It is a key stop on the Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail. This trail has 41 sites in southern Virginia that show how educational opportunities grew.
The building was used as an elementary school until 1993. When the school finally closed, the Martha E. Forrester Council of Women worked to save it. They wanted it to be a memorial to the fight for civil rights in education. In 1998, the R. R. Moton School was named a National Historic Landmark.
Images for kids
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The Robert Russa Moton High School building in Farmville, Virginia.
See also
