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John S. Mosby Academy

Coordinates: 38°56′10″N 78°12′14″W / 38.936222°N 78.2038893°W / 38.936222; -78.2038893
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John S. Mosby Academy
Location
Map
Front Royal, Virginia
Coordinates38°56′10″N 78°12′14″W / 38.936222°N 78.2038893°W / 38.936222; -78.2038893
Information
TypePrivate
Opened1959
Closed1969
Grades8-12

John S. Mosby Academy was a private high school in Front Royal, Virginia, established in 1959 when the city's schools were ordered to desegregate following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling.[1] It was named for John S. Mosby, a Confederate colonel.

The same year, Warren County built Criser High School (1-12) for black children. Mosby and Criser were part of a political stratagem called massive resistance.

Construction and funding

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The school was initially proposed by Chuck Leadman, business agent of the local branch of the Textile Workers Union of America. Leadman solicited $1-per-week donations from his union members to pay for its construction. Leadman described Front Royal as a racial "utopia" free of violence, although the local white population fired live ammunition at a black church when its pastor opposed the project. When the Textile Workers Union international learned of Leadman's project, they froze the local's assets and seized the donations. A court upheld their actions and Leadman was subsequently removed from his position.[2][3]

With the union funding seized, tuition at Mosby was covered in part by state tuition grants. Grants to a "nonprofit, nonsectarian private school", even segregation academies, were upheld by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.[4] On March 9, 1965, in Griffin v. State Board of Education state tuition grants to white-only schools were found to be unconstitutional.[5]

Enrollment and closure

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In 1961, 1000 students enrolled in the school. However, enrollment sharply dropped with the end of state subsidies, and the school closed in 1969.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Keelor, Josette (Oct 17, 2014). "Classmates recall divided schools". Northern Virginia Daily. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Textile Union Seizes Virginia Local Over Plan to Aid Private School." The Washington Post, May 16, 1960
  3. ^ Elsie C. Carter, "Shangri-La in the Shenandoah Valley." The Washington Post, Jan 15, 1961
  4. ^ "Text of Supreme court's Decision ordering Virginia County to Reopen Its Schools". New York Times. May 26, 1964. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Griffin v State Board of Education". E.D.Va. March 9, 1965. Retrieved 29 August 2017. 239 F. Supp. 560 (1965)
  6. ^ Joanne Reckler. "Va. Academy Unfazed by Loss of Tuition Aid: Southside to Maintain Segregated Schools Va. Academy Unfazed by Tuition Aid Loss Desegregated School Negroes Seek Desegregation Social Problem Cited." The Washington Post, Mar 9, 1969