For the Weekly Reflections during African American History Month, we continue our focus on people who made a significant contribution to the struggle for racial justice but whose stories are not as well known as those who are regularly lifted up during this month. Today I want to share the story of a person from where I live in Richmond, VA. I just recently heard about her when a new sculpture was unveiled on the site of the former Westhampton Junior High School. At 12 years old, Daisy Jane Cooper was the first Black student to desegregate that school in 1961. This came after a three year court battle initiated by her mother in 1958. All this came four years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in which the Supreme Court decided unanimously that racial segregation in public education was unconstitutional. Instead of complying with that decision, the city of Richmond along with most other localities in Virginia and throughout the South waged a campaign of “massive resistance” to desegregation supported by most of their elected officials at the local, state, and national levels.
When localities were finally forced by court orders to begin desegregating public schools, there were many situations in which formerly all white schools admitted a single Black child or a small number of Black students. Some of their stories gained national attention such as the Little Rock Nine desegregating Central High School in Little Rock, AK in 1957 or six year old Ruby Bridges desegregating William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans, LA in 1960. Yet there were hundreds of other examples of Black children and their families that took this courageous step and faced similar racial harassment, threats, and isolation. Their stories are just as important but require much more searching to uncover. By learning their stories, we come to realize that the gains of the modern Civil Rights Movement were achieved as much by the faith, courage, and perseverance of local people as by the well known and recognized leaders of the movement. I want to encourage you to search out a story of school desegregation from your local community. This enables us to learn and appreciate the many local heroes of the movement. It empowers us to follow their example and trust that God uses the courage and commitment of “regular” people to journey of racial justice in our time.
The video posted below features a report from several years ago about Jane Cooper Johnson when she was honored for being the first Black student to desegregate both Westhampton Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School.