This fall, the Robert Russa Moton Museum will present a series of special events from October 21st through the 25th. In partnership with Virginia’s Retreat and the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Museum will present the 2010 Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail Conference on October 21. Following this, over the weekend of October 22 – 25, students displaced by the civil rights struggles in Prince Edward County from 1959 through 1963 will be honored at a reunion, including a banquet with keynote speaker Al-Tony Gilmore, Ph.D.
The Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail Conference will bring together economic developers, elected official, site owners, and others in the southern Virginia region and at the state level with vested interests to discuss how the Trail can be enhanced to achieve greater prominence and become an economic driver for the region and the state.
“The birthplace of the free and universally accessible public education system our country enjoys today has its roots in Southside Virginia. The story of how access to education was opened for all is brought to life along The Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail,” noted Catherine Stevens of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center.
The conference will be held on October 21, 2010 in South Boston, Virginia at The Prizery, a nationally recognized historic site restored and adapted for conferences, theater productions and other large events. Please click here to visit the conference website for more information and to register to attend.
The 2010 Southside Reunion will begin on Friday, October 22, 2010 and continue through Monday, October 25, 2010. These events will honor displaced students of Prince Edward County who attended schools across Southside Virginia from 1959-1963 in order to continue their education. A reception hosted by Save Our History on Friday will kick-off the weekend, followed by a banquet dinner on Saturday and visits to local schools on Monday. National Education Association Archivist, Al-Tony Gilmore, Ph.D will give the keynote address on Saturday evening during the banquet.
Patrice Carter, Program Coordinator of the Robert Russa Moton Museum commented, “The reunion will not only provide an opportunity for students to reunite with high school classmates, but more importantly, it will allow people to tell unheard stories of the Closed School Era.”
For more information, please visit the event website (click here), or contact Patrice Carter at (434) 315-8775 ext. 3 or by email at [email protected].