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Title
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EWP 1 Boston Rally A
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Place
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Virginia
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Identifier
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1000394
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Is Version Of
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1000394_EWP_Boston_Rally_A.jpg
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Is Part Of
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Uncategorized
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Date Created
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2024-01-07
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Format
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Jpeg Image
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Number
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be91e2ac9ade17b6251913df0632edf33f0380925bec891779382542f827ea4a
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Source
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/Volumes/T7 Shield/EWP/Elements/EWP_Files/Access Files/Upload temp/1000394_EWP_Boston_Rally_A.jpg
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Publisher
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Digitized by Edwin Washington Project
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Rights
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Loudoun County Public Schools
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Language
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English
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Replaces
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/Volumes/T7 Shield/EWP/Elements/EWP_Files/source/Ingest One/1 Civil Rights/1_Citizen_Study_of_1948/1_Yr_1948_Citizens_Study/Defenders/EWP_Boston_Rally_A.jpg
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extracted text
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- S. Easley,
the races,”
A loudly cheering audience
that filled the Halifax County
High School auditorium to over-
ilowing was told that Virginia
could keep her segregated schools
by enactment of a state law
prohibiting allocation of funds
to integrated schools apph.cal.)le
to localities where a majority
vote of the people in a referen-
dum was in favor of such a
course oi action.
The declarations came from
Fifth District Representative
William M. Tuck and Collins
Denny Jr., counsel for the De-
fenders of State Sovereignty and
Individual Liberties.
Their remarks were heard by
a crowd estimated at 2,300 who
were attending the first mass
meeting called by the county
chapter of the Defenders on Oct-
ober 24.
Denny and William E. Maxey
Jr. executive director of the
state Defenders organization,
said later that it was the biggest
crowd ever to attend a Defenders
meeting.
Later,
sons signed membership
ficates in the Defenders.
Locally, the Defenders are
headed by W. Wirt Shapard,
President of the Bank of Hali-
fax and past president of the
Virginia Bankers Association.
Vice-President is J. Stebbins
Lawson, South Boston textile
man, and Secretary is W. M.
Lewis, Halifax attorney.
On the mass meeting program
with Tuck and Denny was James
Halifax attorney,
whose address at an organiza-
tional meeting ten days earlier
was hailed in local circles as
a bellweather oration that set the
pace for the chapter organiza-
tion.
In introducing Denny, Tuck
reiterated his local option pro-
posal that had appeared in the
press two days earlier in a let-
ter from Tuck and Congressman
Watkins M. Abbitt to the Vir-
ginia Commission on Public Edu-
cation.
Declaring that, “I am against
integration and the mixing of
Tuck told the huge
audience that interrupted both
speakers intermittently:
“We have not integrated the
churches, and despite some talk
to the contrary, we never will.
The white and colored p.eople
naturally prefer to worship a-
mong themselves and in their
own surroundings. Does it not
seem strange that we should
force upon our children intoler-
able conditions which we our-
selves are unwilling and unable
to endure?”
Departing from a prepared
text, Tuck once again said he
deplored the stand of some min-
isters on the segregation 1ssue,
saying that he was “brought up
in the old time religion before
some ministers took a cue from
the Supreme Court to tell us that
it is un-Christian to keep the
races separate.”
“If that’s the kind of religicn
you have to have to be a Christ-
ian these days, .hen’]I don’t want
s, 08 s
several hundred per-
certi-
R
“Integration in the public
schools can be prevented by the
adoption of a state law forbid-
aing the expenditure of public
money in support of any inte-
grated school. As much as I
would dislike to see the support
withdrawn, I wouid favor that
course rather than see the mix-
ing of our little children. At the
very least, such a course should
not be followed until it has the
approval of the people of the
locality affected.”
Denny, prominent Richmond
attorney and former Assistant
Attorney General of the state,
and son of the late Bishop Den-
ny of the Methodist Episcopai
Church, South, drew round after
round of applause from the pack-
ed audience.
Opening his remarks, Denny
rererred to the Supreme Court
ruilng as ‘“‘a distardly decision,
seeking to beat down our way
of life and to regiment us.”
He declared that the state was
faced with “its most dire emer-
gency in 200 years,” and said
that he had noted ‘“an alarming
lethargy among the people until
recently. But that is all changed
now. People are aroused today,”
he declared.
Futting the question to the
aucience: ‘“Are you going to
integrate your public schools?”,
he was greeted by loud ‘“No’s”
from the crowd.
“The Supreme Court has not
said that the schools of Virginia
must be integrated. The court
has said only that the state of
Virginia cannot spend money in
support of schools segregated by
law’’, he continued.
“They can’t tell us we must
spend our own money to compel
children to go to integrated
schools”, he said.
€T Ty Ve ooin 2] e
ARt s
An overflow crowd of 2,300
e s <G ST S
gation ruling was a ‘“condition-
Ing process.”
“These delays are for the pur-
pose of conditioning you to ac-
cept integrated schools,” he de-
clared. .
“Prince Edward was under the
gun but Prince Edward rose on
her hind feet and said she would
appropriate no money for inte-
ograted schools. If it had not been
for Prince Edward County and
Clarendon County, S. C. stand-
ing alone at the moment we
would have court decrees all over
Virginia and the South ordering
school integration,” Denny said.
“There is no more glorious
page in Virginia’s history than
that written by little Prince Ed-
ward County,” he declared.
“What I want to know 13
whether Halifax County has the
same courage and determina-
tion,” he asked.
Here he was greeted by a loud
“Yes,” from the audience.
Continuing, he stated: “If the
98 localities of Virginia have that
courage and determination we
will not have school integration.
If they don’t we will.”
Speaking slowly, Denny cau-
tioned.
“People who look for an easy,
simple solution will be disap-
pointed. I know of only one way
to prevent integration in tihe
schools of Virginia.”
“We can do it by enactment
of a law prohibiting the spend-
ing of one penny of public funds
for integrated schools,” he said.
“Oh, the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People won’t like it, and they
might get a court order of some
kind, but that won’t get the
NAACP any mixed schools,” he
declared.
“Are we so weak, so supine,
wrn rrxrardlyr that 1f narcaceary for
packed high school auditorium for Defenders
mass meeting
lose their educational opportun-
ities,” he said, “but I say to you
with . all candor that if the
INAACP makes it impossible to
operate segregated schools, we
will educate our own and leave
the ,}\IAACP to educate their
OWTIl.
The loudest and most sustain-
ed applause of the evening greet-
ed Denney at this point.
Turning to a religious note,
Denney said that “At no place
did the Master try to instruct
men on the kind of government
that they should adopt, nor did
He attempt to instruct men on
the economy, on politics and on
social conditions. I find nothing
in Holy Writ to encourage us to
mix the races. I find much to
disapprove of it.”
“I don’t believe that the peo-
ple of Virginia are going to sign
the death warrant of future gen-
erations. We know we can win
this fight,” he exclaimed. -
Denny, in closing, said that
the state Defenders would seek
to speak for the people on the
segregation issue before the state
legislature.
““This is no longer a legal mat-
ter. It is a practical political
matter and we invite you to join
the Defenders and get in this
fight to save our schools’”, he
said in closing.
Many of the audience stopped
at tables in the rear of the audi-
torium to sign up as members of
the Defenders.
Here to assist with the mem-
bersship drive was William E.
Maxey Jr., executive director of
the state Defenders. He was as-
sisted by W. M. Lewis, local De-
fenders secretary and treasurer,
and others in the sign-up.
Many who tried to get into the
school narkine lots found them