Museum Reaching Out to Plaintiffs from 1951 Davis vs. Prince Edward Case

In celebration of the courage shown by the students of Robert Russa Moton High School, and the contribution they made to education in Virginia and across the country, the Robert Russa Moton Museum wishes to honor all of the plaintiffs in the 1951 Davis vs. Prince Edward case at a special event on April 22, 2011. It is our goal to find and contact as many people on this list as possible to invite them to the event. A full list of the plaintiffs is below. We hope that you will help us by looking at the list below and sharing this link with your friends and colleagues, so that these individuals or their families can get in touch with their contact information.

Sixty years ago, students at Robert Russa Moton High school were experiencing inadequate facilities in the small, crowded building that was built for 180, but which housed more than 450 students. Without a cafeteria, or gymnasium, or even a separate bathroom for teachers and staff, the students staged a strike on April 23, 1951 to begin their challenge to segregated educational facilities. With the help of their parents and NAACP attorneys, Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson, the students filed suite in the Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County case on May 23, 1951. This case was combined with other segregation cases in four other locations under the name Brown v. Board of Education.

If you know someone, or are on this list yourself, please contact us at the Museum with your name, the plaintiff’s name (if different), mailing address, phone and email address. Your help is greatly appreciated. For more information, or to send contact information, please email Patrice Carter at [email protected], or call (434) 315-8775, extension 3. You may also download the reply form and mail your information to the Robert Russa Moton Museum, P.O. Box 908, Farmville, VA 23901.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

In the United States District Court For the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division
Filed: May 23, 1951

Plaintiffs:

Dorothy E. Davis
Bertha M. Davis
John Davis (father)

Andrew Lewis Woolridge
Wilbert Alexander Woolridge
Aubrey Leslie Woolridge
Leslie Woolridge (father)

Robert Goode, Jr.
Miriam O. Goode
Amanda Goode (mother)

Roosevelt Ownes Hicks
Inez O. Hicks (mother)

Alphonzo S. Bigger
Katie H. Bigger (guardian)

Joy Annetta Cabarrus
Emma H. Morton (guardian)

Grace Elizabeth Brown
Walter N. Brown
Carrie Brown (mother)

Warren Lee Davis
Willie H. Davis
Rosa Bell Davis (mother)

Mary Rebbecca Hall
Harry S. Hall (father)

Dorothy Elizabeth Berkeley
Frankie Louise Berkeley (mother)

Lottie Celeste Willis
Daisy M. Willis
Robert A. Willis
Louise Willis (mother)

Avis Scott
Evelyn Scott
Thomas H. Scott (father)

Elridge Moton
Jacob Moton
Mary Moton (mother)

Clarence W. Womack
Aubrey D. Womack
Amelia Womack (mother)

Catherine Neal
Lee Emmet Neal
Viola W. Neal (mother)

Mary E. Streat
Jannie Streat (guardian)

John Arthur Stokes
Carrie Stokes
Alice M. Stokes (mother)

Elizabeth Womack
Bert S. Womack (father)

Metteaner S. West
Myrtle V. West (mother)

Mary E. Couch
Thomas Hall (guardian)

Edward Leon Walker
Mabel Gertrude Walker
Theophilus Walker (father)

Adline Dennis
Isaiah Dennis (father)

Jeanel E. Richardson
Anita Louise Richardson
Nellie J. Richardson (mother)

Vernethia C. Saunders
Rowland D. Saunders (father)

Burnell Johnson, Jr.
Kate Johnson (mother)

Mattie Jean Miller
Sopophonie Miller (mother)

Junita Hargwood
Elsie Hargwood (mother)

Mary L. Spencer
James Spencer
Sallie Spencer (mother)

Helen L. Sims
Rebecca A. Sims
Louise Sims (mother)

Henry Scott, Jr.
Henry Scott (father)

Stella Watkins
John L. Watkins (father)

Peter Jasper Jones
John Paul Jones
Jasper W. Jones (father)

John Monroe
Harry Monroe
Richard Monroe
Herman Monroe (father)

Dorothy Alice Jefferson
Carrie Irene Jefferson
Mosley Jefferson (father)

Rosetta E. Randle
Ethel L. Randle
Martin R. Randle
Alma Randle (mother)

Leigh Edward Hicks
Sarah Elizabeth Hicks (mother)

John Junius Walker
Maude Estelle Walker
Maude E. Walker (mother)

Alexander Fowlkes
Alice Fowlkes (guardian)

Leroy McCormick
Alice Fowlkes (guardian)

Calvin A. Vaughan
Mattie Vaughan (mother)

Mary Lizzie Carey
Anna bell Carey
Irene Carey
Nelson Carey (father)

Hal Verner Allen
Hal Edward Allen (father)

Deloris Hicks
Marjorie Hicks
C.W. Hicks (father)

Ethel D. Harris
Virginia Harris (mother)

Loretta Booker
Joseph E. Booker (father)

Herman Alexander Allen
Florence Gertrude Allen
Margaret G. Allen (mother)

James Henry C. Allen
Margaret G. Allen (grandmother)

Barbara Rose Johns
Joan Marie Johns
Robert Johns (father)

John Watson, Jr.
John Watson, Sr. (father)

Barbara Jean West
W.C. West (father)

Thelma Leola Allen
Herman Wesley Allen
Thomas H. Allen (father)

John Henry Scott
Walter Wallace Scott
Otis Scott (father)

John Banks, Jr.
Ellen Banks (guardian)

George Lee
Nannie Lee (mother)

Lester Shepperson
Florine Shepperson
Willie Lee Shepperson
P. H. Shepperson (father)

Gladys E. Redd
Charlie Redd
Silas Redd (father)

Reginald W. Bland
Floyd M. Bland
Leonard R. Bland (father)

Reginald Rowlette
Pinkie Rowlette (guardian)

Alice Goins
Pinkie Rowlette (guardian)

Bessie Williams
Mildred Williams
Frank Williams (father)

Bertha E. Earley
Susie Earley (mother)

Frances Thompson
Rachael J. Thompson
W. Howard Thompson (father)

Blanche A. Booker
Ronald O. F. Booker
Clara S. Booker (mother)

Etta L. Wiley
Olivia Wiley (mother)

Pauline Dupuy
Charlie Dupuy (father)

Virginia Bigger
Eddie Bigger (father)

Alma D. Epps
Helen M. Epps
Helen Virginia Epps (mother)

Rosa M. Werkler
Eva Werkler (mother)

Willie L. Goode
Katherine Goode
Dolly M. Goode
Frances Goode (mother)

Mildred Junita Townsend
Arlene Shirley Townsend
John Townsend (father)

Barbara Reese Trent
Rose Marie Trent
Mary Trent (mother)

Walker Camp Farrar
Agnes Farrar (guardian)

Phillip J. Brown
James Brown (father)

6 thoughts on “Museum Reaching Out to Plaintiffs from 1951 Davis vs. Prince Edward Case

  1. Mary Moton is my grandmother. My mother (Mary Morton) married her son James. I was relocated to NY sometime in the 50’s so that I could attend school. I was born in Farmville.

  2. I am the granddaughter of Mary Morton. James Cleveland Morton and Mary B. Morton were my parents. I was born in Farmville and was sent to relatives in S.C. in 1955 to attend school and my brother James went to N.Y.

  3. I was an eighth grader at the time of the 1951 Prince Edward County student walkout which lasted two weeks. Mother, Vera Allen, lost her job probably because of my participation. She got a job in Goldboro, North Carolina and drove back and forth from North Carolina to Virginia weekly separating her from her husband and two children. She was probably separated from her family for eight or more years. When she was allowed to return to Virginia, she was employed in the school system in Bowling Green, VA. She returned to Prince Edward County during the era of “Free Schools.”

  4. I am searching for Samuel Sylvania Hall (born 13 May 1936 to Harry and Rosetta Hall). He was a Boy Scout in the early 1950s—I have attached a page from the 1952 Moton High School yearbook that shows him in his Explorer (BSA) uniform. Also in 1952, Sam was chosen to represent the African American members of the Order of the Arrow in the Farmville/Lynchburg/Danville area.

    Sam’s sister is Mary Rebecca Hall, who married Elridge Moton (both were plaintiffs in the 1951 court case).

    If Sam or any of his family are still around, I would very much like to talk with him/them about his Scouting involvement.

    I can be reached at [email protected] or 434-401-3995.

  5. I am the great granddaughter of Kate Jones Johnson.
    I went to Mary E Branch Elementary School I remember how the schools for Black children were closed because
    the governor did not want the schools to be intergrated this happened in the 50s and I will never forget it.I never had a Black teacher before we moved to Virginia and I still remember her today she always made me feel safe.I am an educator and when I think about my experiences in Virginia I feel proud that I was a part of history.Because of Virginia and that little school I attended it made me happy to be an educator.Thanks Linda W. Smith a black girl who lived at 806 Hill Street in Farmville Virginia

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