Justice, delayed: America revisits some of the most painful episodes of the civil rights era.

• Author: Janofsky, Michael

BACKGROUND

This article examines recent examples of how America is revisiting some of the most painful episodes of the civil rights era. Virginia's scholarships for those who were rocked out of schools in the 1950s and a prosecution in Mississippi for three 1964 murders are among the ongoing efforts to right the wrongs of the past.

BEFORE READING

* Ask a student to read aloud the first paragraph of the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizens "equal protection of the Laws." Virginia's "massive resistance" laws enabled Prince Edward County to close its schools, give vouchers to white children to attend private schools, and effectively deny education to black children.

* In the 1964 case Griffin v. Board of Education of Prince Edward County, the Supreme Court ruled that in shutting its school system, the county had denied black students equal protection of the Laws as guaranteed under the 14th Amendment.

WRITING PROMPTS

* Write a Letter from the Virginia Legislature to the scholarship recipients expressing regret for the school closings.

* When Edgar Ray Killen's case was reopened, some residents of Neshoba County, Miss., felt that it was better to "leave it alone" and not reopen old wounds. Write a five-paragraph essay explaining why you agree or disagree with them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Why do you think Virginia officials in the 1950s were so opposed to white and black children sharing classrooms?

* Was justice fully served in the recent felony-manslaughter conviction of 80-year-old Edgar Ray Killen?

CRITICAL THINKING

* For some people, Virginia's scholarship program might raise questions about the issue of reparations.

* Are people today who had no part in the school closings responsible for the actions of Virginia officials in the 1950s?

FAST FACT

* In 1959, the Virginia General Assembly repealed the state's compulsory school-attendance laws, in defiance of efforts to integrate its schools.

WEB WATCH

www.mercyseatfilms.com/ timeline.html provides a time line comparing racial issues in the nation, Virginia, and Prince Edward County from 1865 to 2001.

Warren Brown was about to enter first grade in 1959 when officials chained up the public schools in Prince Edward County, Va., rather than allow black children to sit beside white children in a classroom.

Brown stayed home for four years, until his mother found a local church offering classes to black children. He graduated from high school in 1972, winning basketball...