Black Parents and Teachers Opposing Massive Resistance

A telegram to Virginia governor J. Lindsay Almond, dated November 22, 1958, expresses the opposition of Black parents and teachers to the governor's embrace of Massive Resistance, an anti-integration policy that led to the closing of schools in Fort Royal, Charlottesville, Norfolk, and Prince Edward County. The Virginia Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, an organization that advocated on behalf of Black students, met in Hampton that November and passed a number of resolutions. After the closing session of the congress, the organizers sent this telegram, which states, in part, that "one of the objectives of the Virginia Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers is to secure for all youths and adults, regardless of race, creed or color, an education that will enable them to grow and participate."