A county abolished public schooling entirely rather than integrate.

Evidence

When faced with an order to integrate, Prince Edward County closed its entire school system in September 1959, and kept county schools closed until 1964, as it kept litigating (although Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County had been a companion case to Brown). The newly founded private Prince Edward Academy operated as the de facto school system for white students. It enrolled K-12 students at several facilities throughout the county. Many black students were forced to move in with relatives in other counties, attend makeshift schools in church basements, or move to northern states to live with host families through a program of the Society of Friends in order to gain education. — Wikipedia contributors, Segregation Academy, 23

Categorization

  • CANDY: A whole school district simply shut for five years — a crisp, staggering fact for elevator conversation.