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1950s

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It Happened Here First: Arlington Students Integrate Virginia Schools

It Happened Here First: Arlington Students Integrate Virginia Schools

02/02/2013 in Virginia by Mark Jones

A day that had been a long time coming... On February 2, 1959, Stratford Junior High School (now H-B Woodlawn High School) in Arlington was the first public school in Virginia to be integrated. That morning, four African American seventh graders – Ronald Deskins, Lance Newman, Michael Jones and Gloria Thompson – started classes at the school with over 100 Arlington County police officers in riot gear standing guard. To the great relief of the community, there was no violence or disorder (though two students were sent home for setting off a firecracker in a school bathroom).

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Virginia

An Unexpected History Lesson in Warrenton

12/26/2012 in Virginia by Mark Jones

Sometimes a trip to the mechanic turns into a history lesson. Don't believe us? Visit Joe's Service Center in Warrenton, Virginia. The waiting area is unlike any auto shop you've ever seen.

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DC
D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

12/13/2012 in DC by Mark Jones

Ask most people what Supreme Court case ended public school segregation and (perhaps after checking their smartphone) they will say, “Brown vs. Board of Education.” That is would be correct… for most of the country. But, for citizens in the federally-controlled District of Columbia another case was more important.

On December 10, 1952 the Supreme Court heard the first arguments in Bolling vs. Sharpe, a case filed on behalf of eleven African American parents whose children had been denied enrollment at D.C.'s John Phillip Sousa Junior High School on the basis of race. The court would issue its decision two years later alongside the more famous Brown decision.

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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