The Results

After reviewing the documents, it’s evident that Norfolk never truly supported integrating its school system. Despite the promises of change, the data from all faculties shows that Norfolk’s teacher demographics barely shifted during integration. This raises the question: Where did the Black teachers go to maintain the consistent percentages displayed over the four-year integration period? The answer lies in the breakdown of how different faculties operated throughout the integration period. Particularly, by comparing data from 1969 to the end of integration in 1972, focusing first on Norfolk’s high schools.

At the outset of integration, Norfolk’s high schools exhibited a stark disparity in the ratio of Black to White teachers, with White teachers overwhelmingly predominant in most schools. The notable exception was Booker T. Washington High School, a prominent Black school where Black teachers outnumbered White teachers. However, the goals of the Norfolk School Board stated that it wanted all schools to reflect two-thirds White and one-third Black in all schools. This did not exclude schools with an established Black presence in their schools, or schools that already had a faculty with equal representation.

As one can see, schools like Granby, Lake Taylor, Maury, and Norview remained predominantly white by the end of 1972. In particular, Granby maintained a five-to-one ratio of White to Black teachers that exceeded the intended two-to-one ratio. However, the most striking change occurred at Booker T. Washington High School, which by the end of integration had a White majority faculty that doubled the number of Black teachers. However, the change in faculty was in line with the two-to-one ratio the Norfolk School Board was looking for. Even though, what the integration plan did was reduce the representation of Black teachers in a Black school to support integration. 

The pattern of the Norfolk School Board’s integration plan hurting Black teachers continued into Norfolk’s middle schools, in a similar situation to Booker T. Washington played out. Middle schools like Azalea Gardens and Lake Taylor Junior stayed predominantly white in the beginning and the end according to Norfolk’s integration plan’s two-to-one ratio. Schools like Campostella Jr. and Rosemont Jr. had predominantly Black faculties at the beginning of integration. By the end, they both turned predominantly White according to Norfolk’s integration plan.

The integration plan’s continued destruction of Black teacher representation continued into Elementary schools as it faced an interesting case. By the end of the integration period, many elementary schools adhered to the plan’s two-to-one ratio. However, there are instances where schools at the beginning of integration showcased equal representation of Black and White teachers. Lee and Campostella Heights Elementary Schools are great examples of an already integrated school that turned predominantly White after the integration plan. There are even cases where predominantly Black elementary schools were destroyed by the end of integration in Smallwood and Titus Town Elementary. On the other hand, by the end of integration, many of Norfolk’s elementary schools showed an eagerness to integrate as schools like Carey and Lindenwood hosted a population split ranging in fifty percent.

By Norfolk City Public School’s definition of integration, it succeeded in reflecting the current teacher population by the end of its plan. However, the success is in reality a mask that hid a segregated system unwilling to change its racist ways. Despite one-third being the goal for the number of Black teachers in schools, the number still puts White teachers in the majority. This caused a lack of representation in schools, which Norfolk teachers still struggle with to this day. While elementary schools like Monroe, Stuart, Tucker, Little Creek, Granby, and Diggs Park had shown us that equal representation happened, however, they were exceptions to the rule. Their existence shows the unwillingness of Norfolk Public Schools to further push integration into what it should be. A school system where both Black and White teachers are represented, and all students can experience both races as teachers. Instead, Norfolk’s integration plan upheld a system that oppressed Black teachers and destroyed many Black majority faculties to instill a White majority. In all, one could argue that Norfolk’s Long-Range Plan was far from what integration should have been and set a precedent for the continued struggle of Norfolk’s Black teachers.