Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties
Administrative History
The Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties was a political organization created in Petersburg, Virginia, in 1954 to prevent integration in Virginia's public schools. The group formed folllowing the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), which established racial segregation in public schools as unconstitutional. The organization pushed for the closing of Virginia schools to avoid integration within the state's schools. The group promoted several "Massive Resistance" laws, and in 1956, the Virginia General Assembly passed laws to close schools forced to integrate and to deny funding to schools forced to open under integration, both of which were knocked down by courts in 1959. At this time, the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties started to decline in popularity, and it dissolved in 1967.
External sources:
"Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties", Encyclopedia Virginia, https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/defenders-of-state-sovereignty-and-individual-liberties/, accessed on June 15, 2023.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
W. B. Gilmer Papers
The W. B. Gilmer Papers document the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties from 1954-1962. The organization was formed to prevent integration in Virginia's public schools. The collection includes broadsides, circulars, letters, certificate of incorporation, newsletters and memos, and newspaper clippings.
Please note: This collection contains racist ideology and language that may be upsetting to researchers.