The Norfolk 17

The Norfolk 17 (HM1054)

Location: Norfolk, VA 23517
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Country: United States of America
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N 36° 51.892', W 76° 17.459'

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Inscription
Four years after the May 1954 U. S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation of public school students based on race was unconstitutional, the Commonwealth of Virginia continued to resist compliance. A fierce legal battle ensued that included a strategy called Massive Resistance.

Rather than admit 17 black students who had been assigned by the Norfolk School Board, Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. seized Norfolk's all-white junior and senior high schools on September 29, 1958, and ordered them closed, thereby barring nearly 10,000 students from attending classes, including the 17 black students. Granby, Maury and Norview high schools; and Blair, Northside and Norview junior high schools remained closed until February 2, 1959, when they reopened with the 17 black students in attendance after rulings by the Virginia Supreme Court and the U. S. District Court in Norfolk.

Fifty years later, this marker recognizes the pioneering achievement of The Norfolk 17.

The Norfolk 17

Granby High School
Betty Jean Reed

Maury High School
Louis Cousins

Norview High School
Olivia Driver
Patricia Godbolt
Alveraze Frederick Gonsouland
Andrew Heidelberg
Delores Johnson
Johnnie Rouse
Carol Wellington

Blair Junior High School
Lolita Portis
Reginald Young

Northisde Junior High School
Geraldine Talley

Norview Junior High School
Levera Forbes
Edward Jordan
James Turner Jr
Patricia Turner
Claudia Wellington
Details
HM NumberHM1054
Tags
Year Placed2009
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 11:53pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 384927 N 4080659
Decimal Degrees36.86486667, -76.29098333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 36° 51.892', W 76° 17.459'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds36° 51' 53.52" N, 76° 17' 27.54" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)757
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 300 Shirley Ave, Norfolk VA 23517, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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