1. Introduction

The Farmville Schools

Robert Russa Moton High School Classroom

Farmville, Virginia, circa 1950

Image of black and white schools

Top: R.R. Moton High School—Black students only

Bottom: Farmville High School—White students only

Separate Schools

When the Supreme Court legalized racial segregation in 1896, it required that separate facilities for Black and White students be equal. However, Southern states enforced segregation without equality. 

Robert Russa Moton High School students were painfully aware of the inequality between their school and the White high school.

Icon: Use arrow keys to adjust the slider
R.R. Moton High School

R.R. Moton High School

Black students: 450
Capacity: 180

Farmville High School

Farmville High School

White students: 800
Capacity: 1,000

Petitioning the School Board

In the fall of 1950, Barbara Johns—then a 15-year-old junior at the Robert Russa Moton High School—attended a school board meeting with several representatives from the Black community. Once again, they urged the board for a new and better school for their children. The school board once again promised to consider their request at a future time. As Barbara left the meeting, she angrily thought, “Something must be done.” But what could one student do?