Norfolk School Board Comments on Integration
(WSLS Television, Roanoke, VA)

Beckett v. School Board of the City of Norfolk. The Norfolk School Board announced its intention to enroll 17 black students in previously white schools for the 1958-59 academic year. Although all the board members "honestly and sincerely" believed that integration was not in the best interest of the black school children, white school children, or the general public, the board was willing to comply with the court's interpretation of the law. Applications by students who failed to take the entrance test or attend the personal interviews were denied. Had the board refused to place those students who submitted successful applications, they could have faced contempt charges from Federal Judge Walter Hoffman.