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The school board of Richmond, Virginia, expresses challenges of school integration to the federal government.
1971 (Aug 16)
The school board of Richmond, Virginia, told Federal District Court Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., that it was unable to reduce the large number of Black students attending its public schools without a merger with the Henrico and Chesterfield County school systems. The board asked the court to order such a merger. The Richmond officials reported to the judge that they were not able to fully comply with his previous desegregation orders which involved widespread crosstown busing. This feature of the desegregation plan had been offset because too many white families had moved to the suburbs. The plight of the Richmond school board was typical of many urban school districts trying to desegregate with large Black populations in the inner cities and predominantly white populations in the suburbs. Suburban residents expressed strong opposition to the school board's proposal and demonstrated outside the home of Judge Merhige, who was protected by U.S. marshals.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.