Page 14 of the Gray Commission Report Appendix I provides background on the Commission’s formation, public engagement, and findings regarding opinions on school integration in Virginia. It describes how the Commission, appointed by Governor Thomas B. Stanley, received extensive feedback through mail, conversations, and a large public hearing held in Richmond, where the majority of attendees opposed integration. The report highlights widespread resistance from counties, school boards, and organizations, with some groups stating they would rather see public schools abolished than integrated, reinforcing the Commission’s stance against enforced desegregation.
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Examining the effect on this Commonwealth; school segregation cases; public hearing; expressed opposition to integration; conflicting viewpoints; integration would lead to abolition or destruction of the public school system; fifty-five counties expressed opposition to integration; twenty-one counties have over fifty percent Negro population; non-governmental organizations opposed integration