Lenoir Chambers

“ In direct contradiction to 1958, the year Virginia closed the schools, 1959 is the year Virginia opened the schools.
This is the most important development in any consideration of the state's struggle with problems that have confronted it since 1954 and will confront it in a longer future. It is fundamental. If it is assumed that Virginians in the world of today think it intelligent and wise, or even tolerable, to shut down the public education program on which democracy rests, then we should be condemning ourselves to darkness. ”

“ It is certain to encounter perplexities not easy to resolve. It may discover demagogues entranced with the thought of exploiting honest doubts and uncertainties as well as old prejudices. It needs sensible cooperation from its Negro citizenship. It needs every ounce of good will it can find from any source.
But the old years of impracticality, unconstitutionalism, and futility are on the way out. If Virginia can produce more willingness to face the facts and fresh qualities of initiation and leadership in dealing with them, the year the state opened the schools can lead to a New Year of hope. ”

“ More intelligent handling of problems of great difficulty will continue and increase only if commonsense and courage continue to direct the course of both political leadership and public opinion. The struggles for reasonable solutions are not over. ”