Moton Banquet Fills Kirby Field House

The floor of Kirby Field House at Hampden- Sydney College was filled to capacity last Thursday evening. It was not, however, a sporting event that was responsible for the gathering. October 2nd was the date reserved for the 4th annual Robert Russa Moton Museum Community Banquet. The annual banquet is held in honor of the school/ museum as well as in commemoration of the historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling and the Griffin v. Prince Edward County ruling.

The banquet was a full evening of formal festivities, complete with music provided by the Voices of Unity Choir, and a welcome by Hostess of Ceremonies, television news personality Ave-Joye Burnett. The Honorable A.D. “Chuckie” Reid, Representing the Prince Edward County Branch of the NAACP, led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Reverend J. Samuel Williams Jr. asked blessings for the meal.  A delicious menu of grilled salmon or chicken marsala, salad, vegetables and potatoes, with peach cobbler for dessert was provided by Thompson Hospitality. Following the meal, music and a presentation of the Moton Family Challenge Awards set the tone and led the way for the evening’s speaker.

This year’s banquet was special in that it marked the 50th and 60th  anniversaries, respectively, of the two monumental court decisions that created a new age for equal education and desegregation. It was on May 17, 1954 that the Supreme Court overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine that the United States had observed for almost 60 years prior to the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, opening the door for desegregation of our public schools.  Just three years prior to the ruling, Barbara Rose Johns, a high school student at R. R. Moton High school in Farmville, staged a student walkout in protest of the grossly inadequate learning facilities at the school in comparison to nearby Farmville School. A long and complicated battle ensued, but finally, in 1964 the ruling in Griffin v. County of Prince Edward made law the right of blacks to a formal education in Prince Edward County.

To celebrate these anniversaries, event coordinators invited WRIC Channel 8 reporter and co-anchor Ave-Joye Burnett to host the evening’s presentation. Ms. Burnett has worked at several television stations in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

The Honorable Henry Marsh III was the keynote speaker for this year’s banquet. Currently the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Henry Marsh was known before the appointment by Governor McAuliffe as Senator Marsh. He had represented the Cities of Richmond and Petersburg, and the counties of Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, and Prince George as well during his duty as Senator. Henry Marsh III was the first African-American Mayor elected to serve Richmond, Virginia, a milestone achieved in 1977. For all that Mr. Marsh has accomplished during his career as a civil servant and lawyer, arguably the most notable happened toward its beginning. Marsh was part of the legal team for the plaintiffs in the Griffin v. Prince Edward County case. The Supreme Court ruling in that case “reopened Prince Edward County public schools and helped save public education for the nation.”  The high point of the evening, of course, was listening to him recall those first days of his legal career, working on the Griffin case. The audience had the pleasure of listening to him speak for some time, recounting stories of the past and of his work during the fight for civil rights and equal education. One simple description of himself, however, stuck out as a reminder to us all as we face new challenges in an ever growing and ever changing world.  In front of a hushed auditorium he reminisced, “I was a foot soldier then.” It felt as if he was speaking of more than just his role in the case, but in the bigger picture – his role in the fight for equality in education. With a little smile, he continued, “I am a foot soldier today.”