Brown v. Board of Education Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

April 13, 1873: Attorney and Presidential Candidate John W. Davis Born in Clarksburg

Attorney and presidential candidate John W. Davis was born in Clarksburg on April 13, 1873. The Democrat launched his political career in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1899, and was elected to Congress in 1911. He resigned shortly into his second term to become U.S. solicitor general and later served as President Woodrow Wilson’s ambassador to England.

In 1924, Democrats nominated Davis for president on their convention’s 103^rd ballot. But, in the general election, he was trounced by President Calvin Coolidge in a Republican landslide. Not only did Davis lose his home state of West Virginia, he failed to carry even his native Clarksburg. However, he remains the only West Virginian ever nominated as a presidential candidate by a major party.

Davis managed a white-shoe law practice in New York until his death in 1955 at age 81. He argued 141 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court but is best remembered for his last one. In 1952, he fought to continue racial segregation in South Carolina. This was one of four cases that were rolled into the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case.

August 11, 1958: Congress of Racial Equality Launches Sit-In Movement at Charleston Lunch Counters

On August 11, 1958, the Congress of Racial Equality—or CORE—launched a sit-in movement at several Charleston lunch counters. Prior to this time, African-Americans in Charleston could order takeout food at many white-owned diners but were not allowed to sit down and eat.

The Charleston protests occurred four years after the U.S. Supreme Court ended segregation in public schools through its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. While the Brown decision integrated public schools, it was left up to civil rights activists to break the color barrier at privately owned businesses.

In 1958, the newly formed CORE chapter targeted three Charleston eateries. Protesters organized sit-ins at the Woolworth, Kresge, and Newberry five-and-ten-cent stores. Faced with a backlash of bad publicity and boycotts, the three stores soon changed their policies and began allowing African-Americans to eat in their establishments. These successful sit-ins occurred a year and a half before the more famous civil rights sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, in early 1960.

While the CORE sit-ins started a trend toward integration, many businesses in Charleston and other West Virginia cities remained segregated through the 1960s.

May 17, 1954: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Racial Segregation in Schools Unconstitutional

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools are unconstitutional, leading eventually to the integration of all schools across the country.

Our state’s public schools had been segregated since West Virginia entered the Union in 1863. After the Brown decision, Governor William Marland announced that West Virginia would follow the high court’s ruling. While some counties integrated their school systems peacefully, others were not as willing. Greenbrier County returned to a segregated school system after a one-week trial run in which 300 students at White Sulphur Springs High walked out of school. There were also protests in Boone, McDowell, Taylor, Berkeley, and Mineral counties. Events took a violent turn in Mercer County when black students were attacked trying to enter Matoaka High School.

By the end of the 1956 school year, nearly half the state’s county school systems had been fully integrated, and 21 had been partially integrated. However, the Eastern Panhandle counties of Berkeley, Hampshire, and Jefferson were still entirely segregated. All West Virginia schools weren’t fully integrated until the late 1960s.

March 26, 1918: Governor William Marland Born in Illinois

Governor William Marland was born in Illinois on March 26, 1918. When he was seven, his family moved to Wyoming County. After graduating from WVU Law School, he quickly moved up the political ranks. He was appointed state attorney general and, in 1952, was elected governor at age 34.

Marland, a Democrat, was a political maverick. One of his first moves as governor was to propose a ten-cents-per-ton severance tax on natural resources. Although the legislature was controlled by fellow Democrats, it was dominated by coal industry interests. As such, legislators repeatedly rejected his severance tax proposals. Then, after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, he ordered the immediate integration of state schools.

These efforts rubbed some politicians the wrong way. And, personally, his abrupt manner and growing problems with alcohol made matters worse. After leaving the governor’s office, he lacked the backing of leading state Democrats. He twice lost campaigns for the U.S. Senate and ended up in Chicago, where, in 1962, he was discovered driving a taxi. In 1965, on the verge of mounting a political comeback, Marland died of cancer at age 47.

May 17, 1954: U.S. Supreme Court Rules Racial Segregation in Schools Unconstitutional

In Recognition of Brown V. Board Decision, WVU Honors Pioneering African-American Student Athletes

To recognize the anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, West Virginia University is holding a three-day tribute to pioneering African-American student athletes.

Brown v. Board was a watershed moment for civil rights in the U.S. The decision ruled that segregation in schools violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which protects citizens’ basic human rights.

David Fryson, vice president and head of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at WVU, will be one of the speakers during the three-day tribute. He said that while Brown versus Board was an important step for civil rights, there were some negative effects. He said many African-American establishments and schools were closed because they were deemed inferior when he doesn’t believe they really were.

Standout WVU women’s basketball player Georgeann Wells.

“And that led us to some of the economic blight and economic challenges that we have in black communities, because we lost our economic base in the name of integration,” he said.

But Fryson said one of the benefits of Brown versus Board was that as black athletes such Garrett Ford excelled at WVU, it showed others in the community what was possible.

“It meant a lot, it really did mean a lot. And for many people, it opened the door to even considering that perhaps a person from an under-represented background could actually matriculate at a place like West Virginia University,” Fryson said.

The tribute, which begins Thursday, April 23, with a welcome presentation at the Erickson Alumni Center in Morgantown, recognizes the pioneering role black athletes played in integrating universities.

Former football players such as Garett Ford, Major Harris and Pat White will be honored along with women’s track and field star Cheryl Nabors Phillips and women’s basketball standout Georgeann Wells, among many others.

Panel discussions with coaches and players will take place Friday at the Alumni Center. African-American student athletes will also be recognized Saturday before the annual Blue-Gold spring football game, which begins at 1 p.m.