R.R. Moton High School English 9 Class
This photograph is of a ninth grade English class at R.R. Moton High School in Prince Edward County, VA, that was submitted by the defense in the civil litigation Dorothy E. Davis, et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, et al. in May 1951.
Initiated by a student protest, this case challenged racial segregation in Prince Edward County, VA, schools. In the spring of 1952, a three-judge U.S. District Court decided in favor of the school board and upheld segregation. On appeal, the case made it to the Supreme Court of the United States and was decided along with three other school segregation cases from South Carolina, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Kansas, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The most striking documents in this case are the courtroom exhibits that show in vivid detail the disparities that black students faced in segregated schools.
Photograph is of a ninth grade English class at R.R. Moton High School in Prince Edward County, VA, dated May 1951. National Archives Identifier: 76043496
View and download the R.R. Moton High School English 9 Class photograph and other documents from Dorothy E. Davis, et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. in the National Archives Catalog. You can explore more records held in the National Archives at Philadelphia through the National Archives Catalog or by visiting the National Archives at Philadelphia. These records are located in Record Group 21: Records of the District Court of the United States, Series: Civil Case Files.