Interview with Vivian Carter Mason About School Integration in Arlington and Norfolk
(WDBJ Television, Roanoke, VA)

Vivian Carter Mason, a founder of the Women's Council for Interracial Cooperation in 1945 and a vocal opponent of school closings in Norfolk, considered "integrated schools are a real possibility" in Virginia and in the South, and saw an "enormous resevoir of good will and good intentions" as Norfolk desegregated. Carter escorted Betty Jean Reid to Granby High School in 1959. When asked how she and the students were received by school administrators, Mrs. Mason replied that the group was received with a "quiet welcome." She saw "no tension" and "no antagonism." Carter's calm demeanor and careful optimism in this interview suggested that integration was not only likely but an uplifting and citizenly experience for black and white.