On Sept. 9, 1964, 15 African American students forcibly desegregated Brunswick High School in Lawrenceville, Virginia. This pivotal moment in the state’s history took place a decade after the landmark ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which stated that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. 

Join us for an insightful conversation about the desegregation of Brunswick High School with eight of the surviving former students now known as the Brunswick 15. The discussion will be moderated by Brian Daugherity, Ph.D., a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University.

For more information, contact Anne McCrery at anne.mccrery@lva.virginia.gov or 804.692.3568.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Seating in the Lecture Hall is available on a first come, first served basis. Limited free parking is available underneath the Library at 800 East Broad Street. 

Shown in the image of the Brunswick 15 are these student photos in alphabetical order: Queen Victoria Marks Birchette*, Carolyn Burwell-Tolbert*, Councilman Vernal Cox*, Elvertha Cox Gillis*, Barbara Evans, Sandra Goldman Jackson*, Marvin Jones, Sr.*, Beatrice Malone, Cecelia Mason-Cameron*, Yvonne Stewart-Easter, Florence Stith-Jackson*, Colonel Rosa Bell Stith, M.D., Ashton Thurman, Joyce Walker, India Walker-Shearin.

*Event Panelist