It was an act of criminal negligence: For five years the whites-only government of Virginia’s Prince Edward County, aided and abetted by state officials, shuttered its 21 public schools and diverted tax revenue to pay for white students to attend a private, segregated “academy.” Black students were denied the basic right of an education; a lucky few were sent far and wide to schools in other counties and states, but most suffered a loss of learning that they never fully recovered from.Read full article >>