The Christiansburg Institute and Segregated Public Schools in Montgomery County,

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1 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History present The Christiansburg Institute and Segregated Public Schools in Montgomery County, With Tom Ewing and Elaine Carter February 18, 2009

2 Timeline of the Public School Era 1866 Founding of Christiansburg Institute 1895 Booker T. Washington: superintendent of Christiansburg Industrial Institute 1934 Friends Freedmen s Association decides to stop funding Christiansburg Industrial Institute; Montgomery County leases school for one year 1947 CII becomes regional high school 1950 CII renamed as Christiansburg Institute 1954 Supreme Court, Brown vs. Board of Education Montgomery County School Board affirms segregation Massive resistance in Virginia against desegregation 1961 First black students: Floyd, Pulaski counties and Blacksburg High School 1964 First black students enroll in Christiansburg High School 1966 School board approves desegregation plan; last graduating class from CI 1967 CI facilities and property sold by school board

3 "C.I.I. Plant is Offered County," Montgomery News Messenger, January 24, 1934, p. 2

4 "C.I.I. Plant is Offered County," Montgomery News Messenger, January 24, 1934, p. 2 A joint meeting of the county school board and the board of supervisors was held Monday afternoon in the court house to discuss taking over the plant of the Christiansburg Industrial Institute for the education of negroes in the county. The plant has been offered to the county and the state as a gift by the Freedmen s Association of Philadelphia, present owners and supporters of the project. The Philadelphia association explained that the school would be maintained here until the close of the school year and offered to give the plant, valued at $150,000 to the county or the state it its operation would be continued. A plan was suggested for making it a state college to include a territory of a dozen counties but this idea was vetoed by the state department.

5 Montgomery News Messenger, October 13, 1937 A new experiment in vocational education in Virginia will begin this week at the Christiansburg Industrial Institute where 40 young negroes, 20 boys and 20 girls, will start a special three month work and training course set up the National Youth Administration.

6 Montgomery News Messenger, October 13, 1937 (con t) Works projects for the boys, which will be on the institute s 185 acre farm and for which the boys will be paid, will include soil and food conservation, fence and bridge construction.work for girls will be along the lines of sewing, laundering, food conservation and preparation and serving of food.

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10 350 Christiansburg Institute Enrollment, / / / / / / /66

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12 School Age Population and High School Enrollment, 1940 Negro School Population, 7 to 19 Potential High School Enrollment Accredited High School Montgomery Christiansburg I.I. Pulaski None Floyd None Giles None Radford None

13 Montgomery News Messenger, April 8, 1954 CI enrollment: 285 Pulaski: 108 Montgomery: 103 Radford: 37 Floyd: 34 Other counties: 3

14 High School Education of African American students: Montgomery County region

15 High School Education of African American students, 1948 County/ city Potential HS Enrollment Actual HS Enrollment High School Floyd unaccredited Franklin accredited Giles 28 0 None Montgomery accredited (CI) Pulaski Regional (CI) Roanoke county accredited Radford 36 0 Regional (CI) Roanoke city accredited Floyd unaccredited Total

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17 Montgomery News Messenger, April 1, 1948 We do not want to imply that there is no racial problem in Montgomery County. We realize that even here the colored people do not get a fair deal on every score. But because of the intelligence of Christiansburg negroes themselves, our community has less of a problem than do many other places. The deeper south has hostilities between the two races. Northern cities have problems of different nature, but none the less severe. We have here negro leaders who realize that the eventual solution to the bi-racial problem will have to come from education and culture of both races. We are fortunate in having this type of colored person in Montgomery County. C.I.I. has done, and will do, more to correct the race problem than all the suppression in Georgia and rioting in Chicago will ever do. The white people can help. They can lend a helping hand to the problem by supporting colored institutions of learning and negro churches.

18 Montgomery News Messenger May 20, 1954 Blacksburg Christiansburg Auburn Allegheny Christiansburg Institute

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20 New York Times, January 24, 1960

21 School Census, ages 7-19, Montgomery County, ,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 White Negro Total 3,000 2,000 1,

22 Montgomery News Messenger, July 25, 1967

23 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Campus Entrance

24 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History The Historic Campus

25 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History The Historic Campus

26 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Trades Building/Infirmary

27 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Bailey Morris Hall

28 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Home Economics Cottage

29 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Edgar A. Long Building

30 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Morris Hall

31 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Principal s Cottage

32 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Historic Trades Building Front View Back View

33 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Coming to CI by Bus

34 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Coming to CI by Bus

35 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Coming to CI by Bus

36 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Separate But Equal? New Gym Constructed, 1952

37 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Separate But Equal?

38 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Separate But Equal?

39 The Christiansburg Institute and VT Department of History Separate But Equal?