Robert Russa Moton High School & Robert Russa Moton Museum

Led the fight against school segregation.

Constructed in 1939, Robert Russa Morton High School was typical of the all-Black schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia, during the period.  It had twice as many students as it was designed for and had no gym or cafeteria.  The highest-paid teacher at Moton earned less than the lowest paid white teacher in the county. 

In April 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns convinced students to go on strike to demand a better school.  This led to a losing federal court suit by the NAACP in 1953, which was overturned a year later by the US Supreme Court via Brown v. Board of Education and thus over-turning segregation in public schools

As a result, the Commonwealth of Virginia led the “massive resistance” movement against the Supreme Court decision by threatening to close its public schools.  The schools in Prince Edward County were closed from 1959 to 1964, making it the only county in the nation to close its public schools for an extended period to avoid desegregation. Today, the Robert Russa Moton High School Museum highlights the fight against segregated “separate but equal” schools.