1. Dr. Benjamin Dixon, Vice President for Multicultural Affairs, welcomed everyone to the second of three sessions of the symposium and introduced Dr. Tom Ewing.

2. Dr. Ewing introduced Mr. Andrew Lewis, the keynote speaker for the evening.

3. Mr. Lewis provided an historical review of the Massive Resistance movement in Virginia. An abbreviated time line taken from his presentation is part of this web site.

4. Ms. Marcy Schnitzer, Assistant Director of the Center for Service Learning, continued with Part II of the history of the Christiansburg Institute. Then, Mr. N. L. Bishop spoke about the time he spent at Christiansburg Institute as a student and how he made the transition from the all Black school to an integrated high school. He recalled how he and other young Black students raised their concerns to white students and teachers by inviting them to sit down and discuss issues as opposed to making demands.

   Mr. Robert Dobson also shared his experience at Christiansburg Institute. He was one of nine teachers who were still teaching there when the school was closed. He recalled that it saddened him because he could not finish several of the projects he began at Christiansburg Institute. He spoke about his transition to Christiansburg High School as one of the first Black teachers in the newly integrated school.

5. Mr. Charles Johnson and Mr. Walter Price spoke as reactors to the presentations. Mr. Price spoke about what led him to attend Christiansburg Institute. He and his parents were dissatisfied with the teachers assigned to his classes early in his schooling. These teachers did not pass certification exams but were allowed to continue to teach. He and his parents decided that a better education could be found at Christiansburg Institute despite the distance that needed to be traveled.

   Mr. Johnson spoke about the structure and discipline that was part of the Christiansburg Institute experience. He recalled that students there were not aware of the poverty that was part of their lives. They had no basis upon which to make comparisons. Mr. Johnson also recalled that once he entered the military, he found that his education put him in good stead as he compared his skills with those of others in his company. He also spoke about integration in the military.

6. After these presentations, the audience was encouraged to ask questions and make comments. This conversation is summarized in Questions & Thoughts.

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Posted: September 29, 1999
By The Educational Policy Institute of Virginia Tech
URL: http://fbox.vt.edu:10021/chre/elps/EPI/SYMPOSIUM/
sjanosik@vt.edu