Unwelcome to Integration
Unwelcome to Integration
Embedded Files
In September of 1968, mandatory integration finally arrived. But all of the students and staff did not integrate. In Williamsburg, as in other parts of the state, some white students and teachers tried to escape integration by moving to private schools. For example, the white chemistry teacher at the previously white-only James Blair High School decided to leave the school division for a position in the private Hampton Roads Academy rather than integrate. Some Black families sent their children to integrated private schools with the hope that, as paying customers, their children would be embraced more equally than in the public schools.
The white teachers that remained in the public system did not necessarily embrace integration. In a March 1968 issue of The Virginia Gazette, Rev. Junius H. Moody, a Black teacher, commented on what he saw as the reluctance of white teachers to integrate: "If you look under the surface, you will find it is the teachers who don't want to be integrated."
Indeed, an underlying and unfounded white fear of Blackness appeared to shape the process of integration. For example, Berkeley, the previously Black-only high school, became a junior high school, housing students in eight and ninth grades under integration. In the first month of integration in the fall of 1968, the Black principal, Caleb Brown, reported a "mild case of "mass hysteria"" rooted in part in "pre-conceived intelligence of a school formerly designated as an all-Negro school is not a safe place to send children not in attendance before."
Principal Caleb Brown
Source: The Beehive, James Blair High School Yearbook, 1968-69, William & Mary Special Collections Research Center
Source: Burke III, Davis. September 20, 1968. "Brown Statement: To Parents on Early Problems at Berkeley." The Virginia Gazette.
For Ruth Pope, these dynamics also created a tension in the school that "something would happen" with Black teachers educating white students.
Film Credit: Media Collections, The Colonial Williamsburg
As the Black students and teachers entered the previously white-only James Blair High School, the white teaching staff played a major role in setting the tone for school year. Black teachers reported an unwelcoming enviroment and concerns about how white teachers treated their Black students.
Source: Phyllis Crudup. August 2, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Phyllis Crudup, a teacher, describes joining a close-knit and supportive faculty at the Black-only Bruton Heights and Berkeley Schools compared to the unwelcoming environment she found at the previously white-only James Blair.
Source: Camilla Buchanan. 2019. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
A white teacher, Dr. Camilla Buchanan (then Spirn), taught in the previously all-Black Berkeley High School in 1967-68 as part of a pilot integration program and recalls being warmly welcomed by the Black staff. She then transferred to James Blair High School where she experienced an unwelcoming school climate.
Source: Phyllis Crudup. August 2, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Indeed, as classes began at James Blair, Phyllis Crudup found not only an unwelcoming environment but racist atttitudes among some of the white teachers.
The teaching staff also played a major role in shaping the experience of Black students of the Class of 1969 as they navigated an integrated high school. Some found teachers - Black and white - who supported them. However, others had experiences of isolation, feeling they had no support system. Some Black students encountered white teachers who appeared to actively work against their best interests.
Biased Disciplinary Actions
Teachers Madeline Gee and Phyllis Crudup felt that the worst part of integration was that white teachers didn't understand Black students and were not invested in their success. As a result, they would disproportionately discipline Black students and send them out of the classroom where they couldn't learn.
Film Credit: Media Collections, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Source: Phyllis Crudup. August 2, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Maria (Tabb) Norman recalls her astonishment at the differing standards for behavior at the Black schools compared to at the previously white-only James Blair.
Source: Maria (Tabb) Norman. November 9, 2021. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
The Lack of Mentorship for Black Students
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Willis Potter remembers being devastated upon learning that his guidance counselor directed him to the wrong classes, thwarting his dreams to attend art school. Despite this setback, Willis Potter was resilient and went on to pursue a successful career as an artist and an Exhibition Designer and Manager at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Mary (Bartlett) Ashlock recalls feeling unsupported as she neared graduation and wasn't given counseling services.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Dale (Marsh) Jackson describes the caring teachers she had in the all-Black schools, which she did not find in the integrated James Blair.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Joel Smith remembers missing his teachers at the all-Black Bruton Heights and Berkeley Schools who had personal connections to them. At the integrated James Blair High School, it felt like teachers just taught them because “it was their job.”
Source: Peggy Randall, February 19, 2021. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Peggy (Clemons) Randall recalls feeling disrespected by one of her teachers.
Positive Experiences
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Rev. Dr. Ronald Ellis remembers a white teacher, Mr. Freed, who helped him secure a scholarship at Norfolk State University.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Floyd Morning remembers not having a lot of counseling, but Mr. Freed did try to direct him towards community college. While he did not follow that route, he had a successful career at the ship yard.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
While many students remember coaches who excluded or minimized Black students, Willis Potter remembers the football coach making efforts to more meaningfully integrate. He recalls that many Black boys on the football team at the all-Black Berkeley High didn’t try out for the team at James Blair High upon integration, perhaps thinking it would be closed to them. Upset at this development, the coach gave everyone the chance to challenge another player for their spot on the team. He goes on to recall the difference it made when he realized the football coaches believed in him.
Source: Class of 1969 Oral History. March 12, 2022. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Willis Potter discusses his career at the Chrysler Museum of Art. He expresses that the teamwork critical to his career was learned on the football team at James Blair High School.
A Comparative Lens: York High School
A Comparative Lens: York High School
James "Chuck" Brown, 1969 graduate, discusses his interactions with teachers as one of a small number of Black students attending the previously white-only York High School in York County in the years before mandatory integration.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown describes teachers calling him racial slurs.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown finally experienced some acceptance when his athletic abilities were recognized. He recalls one coach who helped him - and was harrassed for doing so.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
Ms. Little and Mr. Williams, both Black teachers, looked out for Mr. Brown and supported him amid his experiences of racism.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown describes white teachers who mistreated him and tried to minimize his academic abilities.
Source: James Brown. August 9, 2023. The Village Initiative Oral History Collection.
James Brown felt that Black students were disciplined more frequently and more harshly for the same offenses.
Banner image: Teachers at James Blair High School (clockwise from top L), Caleb Brown, Shade Palmer, Phyllis Crudup, and Virgie (Deal) Jackson. Collage of photos created by Lanni Brown
Sources: The Beehive, 1968-69, William & Mary Special Collections Research Center
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