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Norfolk, Virginia
In September 1958, Norfolk, Virginia became one of the largest cities in the South to directly experience the impact of Massive Resistance, Virginia’s statewide effort to defy the U.S. Supreme Court’s mandate to desegregate public schools. Under laws passed by the Virginia General Assembly, Governor J. Lindsay Almond ordered the closure of six public schools in Norfolk that were under court order to integrate. These schools were: Maury High School, Granby High School, Norview High School, Blair Junior High, Norview Junior High, and Northside Junior High. More than 10,000 students—primarily white—were locked out of their classrooms as a result. The move was intended to prevent the enrollment of 17 African American students who had been selected to desegregate these schools.
During the closure, white students were temporarily taught in makeshift private “classes” set up in churches and homes, funded in part by state tuition grants. However, Black students were left with no equivalent alternatives, reinforcing the discriminatory nature of the policy. After months of protest and legal action, the Virginia Supreme Court and a federal court both ruled on January 19, 1959, that the school-closing laws were unconstitutional. This dual decision forced the state and localities to abandon key components of Massive Resistance. On February 2, 1959, the doors of the closed schools reopened, and the “Norfolk 17” walked into Maury and Norview high schools, becoming the first Black students to integrate Norfolk’s previously all-white secondary schools.
The Norfolk 17 faced intense hostility—jeers, threats, and physical intimidation—but their perseverance marked a turning point in the struggle for school integration in Virginia. Their attendance at these reopened schools showed that even the most entrenched resistance could be overcome through legal pressure and public resolve. Today, Maury, Granby, and Norview High Schools, which once symbolized the fight to maintain segregation, now stand as reminders of how ordinary students helped dismantle institutional racism in public education.
