- [first lines]
- Narrator: In 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" unconstitutional and ordered the southern states to integrate their schools. Like much of the South, Virginia's leaders were determined to resist the ruling and some even threatened to close public schools.
- Self - University of Virginia Professor Emeritus of History: It was not until the 1930s that the NAACP began what I call 'a seminar' with the Supreme Court, saying roughly, "You guys know what separate is - do you know what equal is?"