Skip to main content

"Virginia Negroes Back Integration" - Greensboro Daily News, 1956-10-25

 Item — Box: 2, Folder: 31

Scope and Contents

This is a newspaper clipping of an article reporting on a meeting of the Pittsylvania County Citizens Executive Committee. At that meeting, 500 Black residents of the County unanimously voted to support the racial integration of schools, even at the price of having the school system closed.

The article reports that Gregory Swanson, who was not invited to the event, spoke. It is reported that he said, "Anyone who asks you to sleep on your rights while they are being stolen-I'd say get thee behind me ... I have been moved by this meeting tonight. I am moved to see that we had some Negroes who hadn't sold their birthright for a mess of pottage. This thing is like a snowball going down hill. Nobody can stop it. But you can't sit idly by ... Stay with it. I was crippled, from lack of opportunities. Most of you have been crippled. But stay with it. The people of Alabama are still walking, not riding those buses. We can do the same thing here."

Dates

  • Publication: 1956-10-25

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the materials in this collection.

Extent

From the Collection: 3.33 Linear Feet (4 containers)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Arthur J. Morris Law Library Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Arthur J. Morris Law Library
580 Massie Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22903 United States