On Sunday, July 28th, 1963, the Reverend J. Samuel Williams, Jr., led a group of demonstrators to hold a "kneel-in" at the all-white Farmville Baptist Church in Farmville, Virginia. When he and the protestors were denied entry, Reverend Williams led the protestors in a worship service on the front steps of the church. Police soon arrived and arrested Williams and twenty-two other protesters. This was part of the wave of demonstrations that erupted across the country in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr's, direct action campaign that had descended upon Birmingham, Alabama that spring. The use of fire hoses, attack dogs, and night clubs against peaceful demonstrators had moved the entire nation to take notice of the civil rights struggle. That summer, over a thousand demonstrations erupted in thirty-eight states, including Williams' hometown of Farmville.
"Those were the things that led up to it: me trying to get in [to Farmville Baptist Church], the denial, and the hurt that I had. I guess I thought that people would see us. They couldn't turn you away from worshipping God. How can you do that? But they did." -The Reverend J. Samuel Williams, Jr. |
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The protests during the Summer of 1963 were coordinated by the Reverend L. Francis Griffin of the First Baptist Church. Reverend Griffin had served as a pivotal leader of the Farmville movement since his role in supporting the student strike that occurred 12 years prior. Griffin established the first chapter of the NAACP in Farmville, and in 1962 he was elected the statewide leader of the organization. The schools in Prince Edward had been closed since 1959 in a callous effort to prevent integration, and Griffin had been working hard to provide guidance and leadership to the black community during this crisis. He worked with the NAACP to file suit in federal court, but the case of Griffin v. Prince Edward County was still mired in the legal system. The lack of judicial progress, as well as the excitement generated by King's Birmingham campaign, led Griffin to consider an alternative approach outside of the traditional NAACP legal strategy. That June, Griffin convened a special meeting of the state NAACP and proposed a "Program of Action" to coordinate demonstrations and protests across the state.
Reverend Griffin became a mentor to J. Samuel Williams, and he recruited the young minister to train local youth for the "Program of Action" he hoped to implement in Farmville that summer. Williams had grown up in Farmville and graduated from R.R. Moton High School in 1952. He was elected President of the Senior class, and had been one the student strikers who participated in the 1951 student strike led by Barbara Johns. Williams went on to attend Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to studying for the ministry, he also became involved in a number of student sit-ins that later developed into the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Williams graduated from Shaw in 1962 and returned to Prince Edward County to begin preaching at Levi Baptist Church in the town of Green Bay. He soon became president of the county's Voters Registration League and began traveling throughout the county in order to encourage local blacks to register to vote.
Reverend Griffin became a mentor to J. Samuel Williams, and he recruited the young minister to train local youth for the "Program of Action" he hoped to implement in Farmville that summer. Williams had grown up in Farmville and graduated from R.R. Moton High School in 1952. He was elected President of the Senior class, and had been one the student strikers who participated in the 1951 student strike led by Barbara Johns. Williams went on to attend Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to studying for the ministry, he also became involved in a number of student sit-ins that later developed into the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Williams graduated from Shaw in 1962 and returned to Prince Edward County to begin preaching at Levi Baptist Church in the town of Green Bay. He soon became president of the county's Voters Registration League and began traveling throughout the county in order to encourage local blacks to register to vote.
Thursday, July 25th was the first day of the demonstrations that Griffin and Williams had planned. Over seventy protestors dispersed to various locations throughout Farmville - they conducted sit-ins at the lunch counter of J.J. Newberrry's department store, they attempted to integrate the State Theatre, and they picketed in front of the College Shoppe and other stores. That Saturday, the police attempted to protect the weekend shopping business by containing the protestors to a roped-off area of Main Street in front of the First Baptist Church. Williams ignored the restriction and led the demonstrators down the middle of Main Street to the College Shoppe. Police soon arrived and arrested ten protesters who refused to leave the premises.
"Keep in mind, '63 was hot that summer, and I don't mean climatically so, but socially so, politically so, economically so - hot! Protesting, demonstrating, wade-ins, sit-ins, kneel-ins, all of these and other activities to bring forth freedom."
-The Reverend J. Samuel Williams, Jr.
-The Reverend J. Samuel Williams, Jr.
On Sunday, July 28th, the demonstrations took an unexpected turn as the protestors attempted to integrate all-white church services throughout Farmville. These "kneel-ins" were designed to compel Christian parishioners to recognize the immorality of segregation. The protestors were able to enter the Wesleyan Methodist Church, but nearly the entire congregation got up and left. The young minister who was preaching for the first time asked the demonstrators to leave and they politely complied. At Johns Memorial Episcopal Church, ushers planned to seat the black students at the front of the church in an effort to embarrass them, but Dr. Gordon Moss, a Longwood professor and church deacon, surprised everyone by inviting the protestors to sit in his pew. The following week, Dr. Moss was stripped of his deaconship as punishment for his support for integration.
Reverend Williams was met by one of the ushers at Farmville Baptist Church who blocked him and his group from entering. Williams responded by leading the group in singing freedom songs on the front steps such as We Shall Overcome, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, and Oh Freedom! The police arrived, but the demonstrators refused to leave. Reverend Williams and twenty-two others were arrested. "When I came down from the steps, the cop escorted me . . . Some of the students got limp. They just fell out and they had to drag them" recounted Williams. The protestors were taken next door to the County Courthouse in order to be processed. Williams recalled, "the deputy sheriff came up to see me and said, 'Reverend Griffin wants to see you downstairs.' I knew he was lying when he said so because if Reverend Griffin wanted to see me, he would've come upstairs to the jail cells where we were. When I got downstairs they had some people, some deputy sheriffs from nearby Lunenburg County, to take us to the jail in Lunenburg." The police department had decided to move the protesters in an effort to make room in the jail if the protests continued to grow.
Reverend Williams was met by one of the ushers at Farmville Baptist Church who blocked him and his group from entering. Williams responded by leading the group in singing freedom songs on the front steps such as We Shall Overcome, Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around, and Oh Freedom! The police arrived, but the demonstrators refused to leave. Reverend Williams and twenty-two others were arrested. "When I came down from the steps, the cop escorted me . . . Some of the students got limp. They just fell out and they had to drag them" recounted Williams. The protestors were taken next door to the County Courthouse in order to be processed. Williams recalled, "the deputy sheriff came up to see me and said, 'Reverend Griffin wants to see you downstairs.' I knew he was lying when he said so because if Reverend Griffin wanted to see me, he would've come upstairs to the jail cells where we were. When I got downstairs they had some people, some deputy sheriffs from nearby Lunenburg County, to take us to the jail in Lunenburg." The police department had decided to move the protesters in an effort to make room in the jail if the protests continued to grow.
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The Program of Action continued through the rest of the summer until Griffin organized a large delegation to attend the March on Washington on August 28th. A week later, the Kennedy Administration opened the Free School Association in Prince Edward County in order to counteract the school closures that had been in effect since 1959. Many of the younger demonstrators returned to school after four years of being denied education. The following year, the Supreme Court ruled in Griffin v. Prince Edward County that the school closures were unconstitutional. That fall, the Prince Edward County Board of Supervisors reopened the public school system for the first time in five years. This marked the end of a thirteen year struggle to integrate the schools of Prince Edward County, Virginia. |
Timeline of Events
Our group developed the film above about the Summer of '63 through the eyes the Reverend J. Samuel Williams, Jr.
SOURCES
Barred from service, demonstrators sit on the steps of Farmville Baptist Church. Photo courtesy of The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Digital image. Robert Russa Moton Museum , n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.
Crowd and police near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Cooke, Sam. A Change is Gonna Come. Hugo and Luigi , 1964. MP3.
Eye It. Don't Buy It. Protester demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
Farmville commemorates “kneel-in” 50th anniversary. Moton Museum RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Farmville, Virginia to Lunenburg County, Virginia. Google Maps. Web 21 May 2017.
Fountain is closed. J.J. Newberry's lunch counter demonstration, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 May 2017.
Green, Kristen. Something must be done about Prince Edward County: a family, a Virginia town, a civil rights battle. New York: Harper Perennial, 2016. Print.
It's an Honor to go to Jail for Freedom. Protesters demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
Johns Memorial remembers 1963 effort to desegregate Farmville churches. Diosova News. N.p., 30 July 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Lee, Brian E., and Brian J. Daugherity. Farmville Protests of 1963. Farmville Protests of 1963. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
O'Halloran, Thomas J. Rev. L. Francis Griffin, head of a local NAACP chapter in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia, half-length portrait, facing front. Digital image. Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
Osnos, Evan. Tim Kaine's Radical Optimism. The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Protesters at Grants, Farmville Shopping Center, August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb 2014. Web May 21 2017.
Police enforce designated protest area near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Protesters outside The College Shoppe, Farmville, Va., Saturday, July 27, 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Protesters sit in roped-off protest area near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 23 May 2017.
Protesters walk towards Main Street from side of State Theater, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Richmond Times-Dispatch. Demonstrator Carried from Church Steps in Farmville. Digital image. Encyclopedia Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
Student Protesters on Main Street, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Virginia Commonwealth University. Web 21 May 2017.
Titus, Jill Ogline. The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. Site. N.p., 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Why die in time of war when we can't live in time of peace? Protesters demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
While the 4th Circuit Court Continues to Wait, Education for Negro children suffocates, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Barred from service, demonstrators sit on the steps of Farmville Baptist Church. Photo courtesy of The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Digital image. Robert Russa Moton Museum , n.d. Web. 21 May 2017.
Crowd and police near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Cooke, Sam. A Change is Gonna Come. Hugo and Luigi , 1964. MP3.
Eye It. Don't Buy It. Protester demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
Farmville commemorates “kneel-in” 50th anniversary. Moton Museum RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Farmville, Virginia to Lunenburg County, Virginia. Google Maps. Web 21 May 2017.
Fountain is closed. J.J. Newberry's lunch counter demonstration, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 May 2017.
Green, Kristen. Something must be done about Prince Edward County: a family, a Virginia town, a civil rights battle. New York: Harper Perennial, 2016. Print.
It's an Honor to go to Jail for Freedom. Protesters demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
Johns Memorial remembers 1963 effort to desegregate Farmville churches. Diosova News. N.p., 30 July 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Lee, Brian E., and Brian J. Daugherity. Farmville Protests of 1963. Farmville Protests of 1963. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
O'Halloran, Thomas J. Rev. L. Francis Griffin, head of a local NAACP chapter in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia, half-length portrait, facing front. Digital image. Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
Osnos, Evan. Tim Kaine's Radical Optimism. The New Yorker. The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Protesters at Grants, Farmville Shopping Center, August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb 2014. Web May 21 2017.
Police enforce designated protest area near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Protesters outside The College Shoppe, Farmville, Va., Saturday, July 27, 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Protesters sit in roped-off protest area near First Baptist Church, Farmville, Va., August 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 23 May 2017.
Protesters walk towards Main Street from side of State Theater, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.
Richmond Times-Dispatch. Demonstrator Carried from Church Steps in Farmville. Digital image. Encyclopedia Virginia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
Student Protesters on Main Street, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Virginia Commonwealth University. Web 21 May 2017.
Titus, Jill Ogline. The Cupola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. Site. N.p., 2010. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Why die in time of war when we can't live in time of peace? Protesters demonstrating near A&P, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 22 May 2017.
While the 4th Circuit Court Continues to Wait, Education for Negro children suffocates, Farmville, Va., July 1963. Digital Image. Freedom Now Project. Virginia Commonwealth University, 11 Feb. 2014. Web 21 May 2017.