Telling Our Stories

	Telling Our Stories: School Desegregation in Western Virginia

	Generous funding from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy and Washington and Lee University have made this oral history project possible..	Roanoke, Botetourt, Rockbridge, and Augusta Counties, and the cities of Staunton, Waynesboro, Lexington, Buena Vista, Roanoke and Salem.
		May 17, 2004 Town Meeting Panelists. Front row from left--Margaret Walker, Joseph Moorman, Wanda F. Early. Second row from left--Ted DeLaney, Peggy Hays, Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, Rev. E. T. Burton, and William Perry. Patrick Hinley photograph. This project began with a town meeting in Lee Chapel that commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education. Former Governor A. Linwood Holton, '44 was the keynote speaker. Each of the other people pictured gave short presentations. One theme expressed by two African American speakers was a strong sense of pride in their old segregated school. "Segregation was not all bad," noted Mrs. Wanda F. Early. "We loved our little school."
	Julianne Shelley and Kelly Jo Larsen interview Henry Howard of Lexington Henry Howard's recall of desegregation at Lexington High School is keen. He easily recalled the names of black school mates, and his general assessment was that desegregation had gone smoothly. Howard's primary interest was athletics, and he especially remembered the first black athletes at his school.
		Lauren Rowe interviews Ophie Kier of Staunton Ophie Kier experienced transition from the segregated Booker T. Washington High School to the integrated Robert E. Lee High School in Staunton.
	Telephone responses: I welcome your telephone calls, particularly if you are willing to schedule an interview. Please be assured that we will respect your anonymity, if that is a concern. I will respond to all telephone messages. I am unable to follow up on one telephone call that I received--and indeed the caller asked that I do so--but she failed to leave her telephone number. If you lived in Augusta, Rockbridge, Botetourt, or Roanoke Counties and the neighboring cities at the time of desegregation, but have moved out of the area, a telephone interview is possible. Let's talk about that.
		Email responses: A number of people have responded to this project by emails. I welcome your emailed comments, especially if you are willing to be interviewed--and I can assure your anonymity, if that is a concern. Some of the email reponses have made clear statements without committing to an interview. The spoken word is far more important than email statements because email messages are almost impossible to verify. Looking at a person when he/she speaks is very important, and there is a level of communication that is not possible with emails. Additionally, we have a standard set of questions that we ask all participants, white or black.