Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County (Court citation:Civ. A. No. 1333) was one of the four cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the famous case in which the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1954, officially overturned racial segregation in U.S. public schools. The Davis case was the only such case to be initiated by a student protest. The case challenged segregation in Prince Edward County, Virginia. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... Holding Racial segregation in public education violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; separate facilities are “inherently unequal. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Racial segregation is a kind of formalized or institutionalized discrimination on the basis of race, characterized by the races separation from each other. ... In the United States at the national level, public education is supervised by the Department of Education Public education is schooling provided by the government, and paid for by taxes. ... Prince Edward County is a county located in the state of Virginia. ...

Background

Moton High School, an all-black school in Farmville, Virginia, suffered from terrible conditions due to underfunding. The school did not have a gymansium, cafeteria, or teachers' restrooms. Teachers and students did not have desks or blackboards, and due to overcrowding, some students had to take classes in an immobile school bus parked outside. The school's requests for additional funds were denied by the all-white school board. Farmville is a town located in Virginia. ...

In response, on April 23, 1951, a 16-year-old student named Barbara Rose Johns covertly organized a student strike. She forged notes to teachers telling them to bring their students to the auditorium for a special announcement. When the school's students showed up, Barbara Johns took the stage and persuaded the school to strike to protest poor school conditions. Over 450 walked out and marched to the homes of members of the school board, who refused to see them. Thus a two-week protest began. April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

The trials

On May 23, 1951, two lawyers from the NAACP, Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill, filed suit on behalf of the students to integrate the schools. The request was unanimously rejected by a three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court. "We have found no hurt or harm to either race," the court found. The case was then appealed to the US Supreme Court, and combined with several other cases into the famous Brown v. Board of Education case. In it, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was effectively illegal. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (144th in leap years). ... The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. ... The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Holding Racial segregation in public education violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; separate facilities are “inherently unequal. ...

Aftermath

The ruling was extremely unpopular in Virginia, and white Virginians attempted to resist integration through every means posible. Schools remained segregated for several years. In 1959, the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds for the County School Board at all, effectively closing all public schools rather than integrate them. White students often attended all-white private schools that formed in response. Black students had to go to school elsewhere or forgo their education altogether. Prince Edward County schools remained closed for five years. State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...