Massive resistance

Massive resistance was the political strategy used by Southern politicians, particularly in Virginia, to resist the desegregation of public schools. 

 Background 
In 1954, in the lawsuit Brown v. Board of Education, the United States Supreme Court ruled that school segregation violates the United States Constitution. However, many all-white schools still refused to allow black students to attend. In 1955, in Brown v. Board of Education II, the Supreme Court ordered them to desegregate "with all deliberate speed."  

Many Southern politicians were unhappy with this ruling. By 1956, Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia had gathered a coalition of almost 100 Southern politicians who were determined not to desegregate. (This was around 20% of the people in Congress.) These politicians signed a "Southern Manifesto" stating that they would use massive resistance to prevent schools from being desegregated.Badger, Tony (June 1999). "Southerners Who Refused to Sign the Southern Manifesto". The Historical Journal. 42 (2): 517–534. doi:10.1017/S0018246X98008346. JSTOR 3020998. S2CID 145083004. 

According to one source:On February 25, 1956, Senator Byrd issued the call for “Massive Resistance” — a collection of laws passed in response to the Brown decision that aggressively tried to [delay] and prevent school integration. For instance, the Massive Resistance doctrine included a law that punished any public school that integrated by eliminating its state funds and eventually closing the school.

 Tactics 
The massive resistance strategy involved a range of tactics, including:

 Enacting laws that made desegregation more difficult
 Closing schools to prevent desegregation
 Funding segregated private schools

 Related pages 

 Racial segregation
 Desegregation busing
 Brown v. Board of Education
 Brown v. Board of Education II

References

Category:American civil rights
Category:Racism