Governor Thomas B. Stanley Address to General Assembly
(WDBJ Television, Roanoke, VA)

Governor Thomas B. Stanley deemed his proposed program of continued segregation in schools best for all Virginians, white and black, and the best way to protect the interests of the "boys and girls who constitute our future citizenship." Stanley said his proposed program was not designed to take away educational opportunities from either race. Rather, he sought to" insure to both white and Negro the enjoyment of full educational opportunities by the preservation of our public school system." To try "commingling" the races now, said Stanley, would only disrupt the great heritage each group created "among their own people" in Virginia. However, if local officials decided to mix white and Negro students inside a public school, Stanley said the school should be closed and "educational grants" made available for payment to another educational institution.