Fourth Circuit Court Ruling

On July 25, 1963, the Reverend Goodwin Douglas, pastor of the Beulah AME Church in Farmville, carries a sign urging the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond to make a ruling in Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who brought the case, argued that the county's decision to close all local public schools was unconstitutional. On August 12, 1963, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court ruled that Prince Edward County was under no constitutional obligation to operate public schools. The case was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in May 1964 the court ruled that the school closings were unconstitutional.