In 1951, Dorothy E. Davis, on behalf of 117 students, sought to end segregation in Prince Edward County Schools. Davis was one of many students who joined a strike at Moton High School in Farmville, VA, to protest the conditions of the only high school that African Americans could attend in Farmville. The three judges in the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia upheld the validity of the state provisions providing for segregated education (“Separation of white and colored ‘children’ in the public schools of Virginia has for generations been a part of the mores of her people.”). The court did, however, order the school district to "proceed with all reasonable diligence and dispatch to remove" the inequality in schools for African American students. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court, where it was consolidated with four other cases as part of Brown v. Board.
Dobie Papers, Box 8, Box 12, and Box 14
Box 8 Inventory
- Counties and Cities in Virginia Where High School Buildings and Facilities for Negroes Are Equal or Better Than high School Buildings and Facilities for Whites, 1952 February 26
- Index to Photographs of Moton High School, Farmville High School, and Worsham High School
- Index to Documentary Exhibits of Moton High School, Farmville High School, and Worsham High School
- Handwritten notes on court proceedings for Davis v. Prince Edward County School Board
- Exhibit for the State; Total Amount Spent for All Instruction in Regular Day Schools
- Exhibit for the State; Valuations of Certain Types of Teachings Equipment in the High Schools of Prince Edward County, Virginia
- Exhibit for the State; Value of School Plants After Completion of Specific Projects in 69 Counties and 22 Cities
- Exhibit for the Defendants; Statistical Data with testimony of Dr. Dabney S. Lancaster
- Exhibit for the State; Enrollment in Regular Day Schools
- Exhibit for the State; Teacher-Pupil Ratio Based on A.D.A. Classroom Teaching Positions
- Local Effort 1950-1951
- High School Buildings in Prince Edward County
- School Construction Program: Four-year program submitted to State Board of Education
- Description of Facilities for New Negro High School in Prince Edward County
- Comparison of High School Teachers, 1930-1931
- Table of Specific Projects for 69 Counties and 22 Cities, 1952 February 22
- Data Relative to Teachers Employed in Prince Edward County During the Session 1951-1952 (White)
- Data Relative to Teachers Employed in Prince Edward County During the Session 1950-1951 (White)
- Salary supplements paid by Longwood College to certain teachers at Farmville High School for the teacher training program for session 1950-1951 and 1951-1952
- Enrollment, Pupil Teacher Ratio and Per Capita Costs of Instruction for Prince Edward County High Schools
- Program of Studies in Prince Edward County High School
- Instructional Load of the High Schools of Prince Edward County
- Valuations of School Property in Prince Edward County
- Salaries of High School Teachers in Prince Edward County, Virginia for the School Year 1951-1952
- Teaching Experience and Academic Degrees of High School Teachers in Prince Edward County
- Transportation Services in Prince Edward County, Virginia
- Plaintiff’s Complaint in Dorothy E. Davis, et al. v. Prince Edward County School Board
- Motion to Intervene as a Defendant by the Commonwealth of Virginia and Attorney General Lindsay Almond
Folder: Dorothy E. Davis et al. vs. Prince Edward County School Board
Letter from L.T. Penny to Armistead Dobie regarding their concern about the NAACP’s legitimacy, 1952 February 26
Box 12 Inventory
Folder 1 of 2
- Motion for hearing on formulation of decree and judgment in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 June 28
- Handwritten notes on Dorothy E. Davis v Prince Edward County School Board., n.d.
- Order on mandate in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 (4 copies)
- Motion to intervene in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 July 8
- Judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955
- Mandate from the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 May 31
- Petition of defendants in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 July 18
- Affidavit of Thomas J. McIlwaine in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1955 July 16
- Decree ordering Prince Edward County School Board to conform to Supreme Court decision., 1955 July 18
- Plaintiff’s complaint in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1951 May 23
Folder 2 of 2
- Letter from Judge Albert V. Bryan to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Sterling Hutcheson [re: mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 June 3
- Letter from Judge Armistead M. Dobie to Judge Sterling Hutcheson and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 June 6
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 June 6
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 June 7
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to counsel for plaintiffs and defendants [re: hearing date for motion filed by plaintiffs]., 1955 June 30
- Letter from Walkley E. Johnson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie [re: mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 July 5
- Letter from Judge Albert V. Bryan to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Sterling Hutcheson [re: order on mandate]., 1955 July 6
- Letter from Judge Armistead M. Dobie to Walkley E. Johnson [re: copies of plaintiff’s complaint and mandate from U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 July 6
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: order on mandate]., 1955 July 7
- Letter from D.F. Harrison to Judge Armistead M. Dobie [re: mandate from the U.S. Supreme Court]., 1955 July 7
- Letter from an anonymous source to Judge Armistead M. Dobie [re: implementation of integration in Prince Edward County]., 1955 June 13
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: order on mandate]., 1955 June 28
- Letter from Judge Armistead M. Dobie to Judge Sterling Hutcheson and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: hearing date for order on mandate]., 1955 June 27
- Letter from Judge Albert V. Bryan to Judge Armistead M. Dobie [re: hearing date for order on mandate]., 1955 June 28
- Letter from Judge Armistead M. Dobie to Judge Sterling Hutcheson and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: plaintiff’s motion]., 1955 June 29
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: plaintiff’s motion]., 1955 June 29
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: order on mandate]., 1955 July 6
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: order on mandate]., 1955 July 13
- Letter from Judge Armistead M. Dobie to Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: decree in case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333]., 1955 July 11
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Armistead M. Dobie and Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: Judge Armistead M. Dobie’s previous letter]., 1955 July 12
- Letter from Judge John J. Parker to Mrs. G. Richard Shafto [re: permission to broadcast proceedings of three-judge court in school segregation case in Columbia, S.C.]., 1955 July 13
Box 14 Inventory
- Letter from Judge Albert V. Bryan to Judge Armistead M. Dobie [re: hearing date for motions filed in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333]., 1956 March 22
- Letter from Judge Sterling Hutcheson to Judge Albert V. Bryan [re: hearing date for pending motion and depositions]., 1956 March 26
- Motion for subpoenas and for production of documents in the case of Dorothy E. Davis et al. v. County School Board of Prince Edward County et al. Civil Action No. 1333., 1956 March 19