The Norfolk 17
The members of the Norfolk 17 were the true heroes of the school integration struggle in Norfolk, Virginia. As young men and women, they entered six of the previously all-white public schools in the city, persevering in the face of intense racial animosity. In doing so, they secured for themselves, their friends and family, and indeed their entire people, a new place in American society.
Introduction
Many members of the Norfolk 17 were too young to take notice of Brown v. Board of Education, when the case was decided in May 1954. Little did they know that the Supreme Court's historic decision would re-write the story of their lives. At the time, they all attended segregated black schools in Norfolk (or went to school in other locations). Although most of the students have fond memories of their all-black schools, they were well aware of the inequalities within Norfolk's public school system. They knew, for instance, that their textbooks always had the stamp of a nearby white school that had recently received up-dated books. They knew, too, that at white schools students didn't have to wear their coats inside during the winter or move buckets to collect rain water that fell from the ceiling. And, finally, they knew that it was the white community that dominated the city and state government, which was undertaking a strategy of Massive Resistance to the Brown decision to keep them out of white schools, businesses, and other public establishments.
During the spring and summer of 1958, the members of the Norfolk 17 were encouraged by their parents, church members, and local civil rights leaders to join with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in its attempt to enforce the Brown decision in Norfolk. At the time, not one public school in the city or state had been integrated, and the members of the Norfolk 17 took a great risk when they agreed to participate. By July 25, they had joined with 134 other students in an attempt to transfer from their black schools into the white schools of the city. This meant that the Norfolk 17 had to take a battery of academic and psychological tests overseen by the members of the school board. On August 18, the school board announced that all 151 transfer requests were denied. Yet, after meeting with District Court Judge Walter E. Hoffman, the board decided that it would grudgingly admit 17 of the 151 applicants to six of the city's all-white secondary schools.
This was not the end of the story, however. For, months earlier, the state legislature had passed legislation that empowered the governor to close any Virginia public school, which was “threatened” by integration. On September 29, 1958 six of Norfolk's formerly all-white schools were closed to avoid integration. More than 9,000 white students were kept from school, and the members of the Norfolk 17 were the targets of intense criticism and public scrutiny. They shared the white students' locked-out status, and they attended school at Bute Street Baptist Church during the winter of 1958.
Fittingly, on the anniversary of Robert E. Lee's birth, January 19, 1959, the Virginia State Supreme Court and the Federal District Court declared that the school closings in Norfolk were unconstitutional. Two weeks later, on February 2, 1959, the Norfolk 17 became the first African American students to attend the previously all-white schools in the largest school district in the state of Virginia.
The members of the Norfolk 17 faced many difficulties as they entered their new schools. They were spit at, cursed at, belittled, and ostracized. And yet, they met the challenge. Most took solace in their faith in God and his plan for them. They persevered through the hardships, graduated, and went on to achieve great things as members of the larger American community.
Members of the Norfolk 17
and the schools they attended
Northside Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 1400)
Geraldine Talley Hobby
Maury High School (enrollment ca. 2075)
Louis Cousins
Granby High School (enrollment ca. 2100)
Betty Jean Reed
Blair Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 1100)
Lolita Portis Reginald Young
Norview Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 2175)
LaVera Forbes
James Turner Jr.
Patricia Turner
Edward Jordan
Claudia Wellington
Norview High School (enrollment ca. 1100)
Andrew Heidelberg
Alvarez Frederick Gonsouland
Delores Johnson Brown
Johnnie Rouse
Olivia Driver Lindsay
Carol Wellington
Patricia Godbolt
Geraldine Talley was the only black student to enter Northside Jr. High School in 1959. She was 12 years old, entering the 7th grade. She was an extremely brave girl. At a 50th Anniversary program of Brown v. Board in 2004*, Geraldine said that what she endured was awful. She commented that she would be filled with nothing but hatred if it weren’t for a white girl, Diane, who was nice to her. Diane was from a military family. Talley was originally from New Jersey and couldn't understand what was happening in Norfolk. She has spoken about how even her teachers ignored her in middle school. When she went to Granby High School, however, an art teacher who recognized her talent took her under his wings and helped her.
Geraldine is writing a book about the six years she lived with the pain and suffering of integration. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 in the belief that
Louis Cousins was the only black student to attend Maury High School in 1959 at 15 years old. He graduated in 1962. The other members of the Norfolk 17 referred to Louis as "the professor" because of his intelligence. As witnessed in a much-publicized photograph, he too was ostracized. The photograph shows Maury's large auditorium with Louis Cousins isolated from the rest of the students. An article in the San Antonio Express-News* talks about how Cousins felt alone as he entered the school on his first day, amid "curious stares--and silence."
"This school was totally white, all white students," he said. "The only thing that might have been black was the staff that did the floors." Aside from the isolation, Cousins - like the other Norfolk 17 children - also endured taunts. He recalled students would sit on the brick wall around the school before classes began and hurl insults as he walked by. "We were called tar baby, nigger, Sambo in the hallways," recounted the 60-year-old Cousins. At his home, tormenters broke out windows and once burned a cross in his front yard to "symbolize the KKK," he said.
The only time he lost his composure, Cousins recalled, was when a student spat on him. Cousins chased the classmate down the hall and into the principal's office. The student later was suspended. After high school, Cousins joined the Air Force and worked as a medic in Vietnam. He lives in San Antonio, Texas and has retired as a medical technician. About the Norfolk 17, he believes that "we were there for a purpose... We were there to open the doors not only for ourselves, but for our race."
Lolita Portis, 12 years old, was one of two black students to attend Blair Jr. High School in 1959. Lolita was interviewed for the documentary "The Other Face of Dixie" (1962). She said that what helped her get through this trying time was that she was treated well by the teachers. Sam Ray, principal of Blair Jr. High School, recalled Lolita as "a girl who is now married and has children ... was a fine young lady. Both students adjusted beautifully." Ray stated that both of these students (Portis and Reginald Young) "went on and finished at Maury and to my knowledge had no problems at Maury."* But 50 years later, from her home in Nevada, Lolita told a fellow Norfolk 17 member that she has wanted to forget about that time.
Reginald Young was one of two black students to integrate Blair Junior High School when the schools reopened in 1959. He was in the 8th grade, 13 years old, and later graduated from Maury High School in 1963. Sam Ray, principal of Blair Middle School, recalled that both Reginald Young and Lolita Portis "went on and finished at Maury and to my knowledge had no problems at Maury. Reginald was the first black athlete that Maury High School had. He was an outstanding baseball player." Ray also stated that Reginald was "a very outstanding young man. In fact he was a law student at Stanford University. He was suddenly taken ill. Had a brain tumor and died."*
Reginald Young died in April 1977, before he had a chance to share his story and be recognized by the City of Norfolk for his bravery and courage.
LaVera Forbes attended Norview Jr. High School on February 2, 1959 as a 7th grader.
Like other Norfolk 17 members, LaVera blotted out a lot from that era because it was so painful. It is still painful to remember and painful to talk about.
At a 2004 program* honoring the Norfolk 17, LaVera recalled that she was actually stabbed in the back on one of her first days of school -- something that she only recently started talking about. Her father took her to the emergency room, but he and the lawyers told her she couldn't talk about it to anyone for fear of ruining chances of desegregation. So she held it in all these years.
She remembers how her "own people turned their backs" -- in the neighborhood, people wouldn't speak to her, would close their doors as she walked by. Old friends were forbidden to play with her.
LaVera lives in Norfolk, where she most recently worked in a bank until 2004. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17.
Skip Turner entered Norview Jr. High School in 1959 with his sister, Patricia Turner. He was 12 years old, entering 7th grade in February 1959.
He died in November, 2003 after suffering a stroke and heart attack. While his own recollections from this time period have not been recorded, his obituary* tells us that "he didn't talk much about that turbulent time.... 'He was quiet and reserved,' said his sister Patricia."
Turner went on to get a political science degree from Howard University and did graduate work at Central Michigan University and at the University of Kansas, where he was Director of Affirmative Action. In 1991, he returned to Hampton Roads, where he lived until his death in 2003.
Patricia Turner entered Norview Jr. High School in 1959, with her brother James and three other children. She was 14 years old, entering her final semester as an 8th grader.
Ms. Turner has spoken of the fact that she couldn't make friends. No one spoke to her -- except to call her names, spit on her, throw gum in her hair. But even worse than that is the behavior of her teachers. In an interview, she tells of the teachers who wore rubber gloves to receive her papers, or they had her drop her papers in a basket -- but mostly they just ignored her. Even though she qualified to play field hockey and was good at it, she never got to play because no other teams would play Norview if Patricia was going to play.
She did eventually make some friends when they realized that she was gifted in math and as a field hockey player. In spite of all of her hardships, Ms. Turner graduated #5-6 out of the over 400 seniors at Norview High School.
After high school, Ms. Turner moved to Richmond, then Philadelphia, then back home to Norfolk. She taught at Blair Middle School in Norfolk from 1992 until her retirement in 2008. She is proud to attend the many events honoring the 17.
Edward Jordan integrated Norview Jr. High School in 1959, as a 7th grader. His brother was Freddy Gonsouland who attended Norview High School.
As of early 2008, Mr. Jordan's recollections had not been recorded at any of the events honoring the Norfolk 17, nor by the press. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Claudia Wellington, born December 12, 1946, integrated Norview Junior High School with four other children. She was 12 years old. Her sister Carol attended Norview High School. Her experiences have not been recorded through the news media or other interviews. After leaving Virginia to continue high school, Claudia returned and graduated from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor in Science. She pursued a variety of careers and lived most recently in New York. She died there on December 28, 2004.
Andrew Heidelberg was a freshman in February of 1959 when he attended Norview High School with six other African-American children. He has spoken at many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 and has written a powerful memoir about his experiences (The Norfolk 17: A Personal Narrative on Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962). At 60 years old, speaking at a program in 2004*, he said that these programs always bring emotional flashbacks from that time in the late 50s. He said while he was in school, he thought that he might end up like Emmett Till. He was terrified and didn't understand why he couldn't just go to school and be a kid.
He told the story of watching 3 boys play baseball at school. He loved sports and envied these boys. He knew he couldn't join them, so he just watched from a distance. They saw him and started yelling at him, calling him unspeakable names, telling him to stop looking at them -- calling him "nigger" over and over. One boy hurled the baseball at Andrew's head, but Andrew ducked in time to miss it. One with a bat said he wanted to "kill a nigger today"; he told Andrew that after school he'd better be ready to die.
Andrew said he kept thinking to himself that he couldn't understand why he had to go through this. He was just a kid who wanted to go to school and not be bothered. He looked at his hands and wondered why God made him black, why he had to suffer like this.
Near the end of the school day, the principal called him to his office and made him stay there until after 5pm. He couldn't figure out why he had to be there. Later that evening, his friend Freddy Gonsouland (a fellow Norfolk 17 member) told him about the angry mob of white students who were wielding baseball bats, saying they were "going to kill a nigger." Andrew realized that the principal held him back to save his life.
Andrew said his story is a little different than the others -- it had another side, because he turned out to be a football star. When he was a junior, they didn't allow him to play, but when he was a senior, things changed. One comment he likes to make as he recounts his experiences is that when someone asked him if he was too light (weight) to play when he was a junior, he responded: "I wasn't too light, I was too dark." He said that more people accepted him because of his ability to play football. Andy passed away July 6, 2015.
See also: Heidelberg, Andrew I. 2006. The Norfolk 17: A personal narrative on desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962. Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books. (LC214.23.N75.H45 2006)
Freddy Gonsouland integrated Norview High School with six other black children, while his brother Eddie Jordan attended Norview Middle School. In an email, he said that he has tried to put the experience behind him, but he understands that it is valuable for people to know what happened during Norfolk's desegregation crisis. We can learn a bit about Freddy through the recollections of classmate, Andrew Heidelberg. In Andrew's memoir, The Norfolk 17: A Personal Narrative on Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962, he recalls how Freddy helped him get through the first day. Freddy was not as terrified as Andrew, and his presence made Andrew feel safe on that walk to school. After one semester, Freddy petitioned the school to return to the all-black Booker T. Washington High School.
Gonsouland lives in Maryland, and he attended some of the 50th anniversary events in 2009.
Delores Johnson, one of seven children to integrate Norview High School, was 16 and a junior in February 1959.
She has been interviewed and has participated in some of the events honoring the Norfolk 17. She remembers that she wanted to take physical education classes, and she considered majoring in physical education. But, she was not allowed to take PE at Norview High School. They told her they were afraid she would dirty the showers for the other girls.
She recalls that when she sat down in her first class on her first day, everyone moved away from her. Her teachers were not welcoming either; they chose to ignore her. She also recounts how long it took her to get home from school on the first day. NAACP lawyers were driving her home, as they did some of the other children, because they wanted them to get home safely and didn’t want anyone to know where the children lived. After hours of driving around, she asked why they weren’t taking her home – they told her they were being followed. She turned around and saw a car with 6 large white men following closely. She did not get home until 9pm.
She also remembers that she carried all of her books, rather than taking a chance stopping at her locker. She also would not dare use the restroom, for fear of being cornered. One day a boy walked into her and knocked all of her books down – she gathered them up as fast as she could, with no help from anyone. They all just stared. She realized she had been cut, but she said nothing, just picked up her books and moved on.
In spite of everything, she says she “wouldn’t trade the experience. But, it was not easy.”
Johnson married and is now Delores Johnson Brown. She received her MA in Education in 1975 and a Certificate in Advanced Studies in 1981-82, both from Old Dominion University. In 1996, she retired
Johnnie Rouse, at 15 years old, integrated Norview High School with six other children.
In an interview, Rouse recalled that some students tried to pick fights with her. But she was defiant and stood her ground. "Eventually, she said, they decided she was a little 'crazy' and let her be." Because she wasn't able to buy tickets for school events, she had white friends buy them for her. "She said she was determined to have a high-school experience like anyone else's. 'I said, "I'm not going to be afraid," and I wasn't'." *
About the long-delayed recognition by the City of Norfolk in 2002, Rouse said: "It's truly an honor that somebody recognizes that you were one of the front- runners," she said. "That you made it possible to end . . . separate but unequal."
Olivia Driver was one of seven students to integrate Norview High School.
Olivia recalls being spat upon, having things thrown at her, being called names that can't be repeated - the 17 students endured all of this. It was definitely violent, even though the press reported that there was no violence. It may not have been what the public expected, but the Norfolk 17 felt it and lived it for several years of their lives.
As she mentioned at a program honoring the Norfolk 17*, Lindsay believes that the city tried to prevent integration for years. She commented that Old Dominion University and Norfolk General Hospital wouldn't be here if not for people trying to keep blacks out of white schools. [She is referring to the urban development that tried to keep neighborhoods segregated, so that schools could be segregated.]
Olivia Driver married and is now Olivia Driver Lindsay. She lives in Norfolk and is a retired teacher. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 because it is important that their story be told and remembered.
Carol Wellington was 15 years old when she and six others integrated Norview High School. Her sister Claudia attended Norview Junior High School.
Carol resides in Homewood, Illinois.
Until 2009, her experiences had not been recorded through the news media or other interviews. She participated in many of the 50th anniversary events and shared some of her recollections in WHRO's "The Norfolk 17: Their Story."
Patricia Godbolt integrated Norview High School with six other black children in February of 1959. She was a senior.
As a newspaper reporter tells it:
Patricia Godbolt White remembers a cross burning that was staged at her door to scare her from attending an all-white high school.
She remembers the threats and taunts that were part of her life when she crossed the color barrier and dared to attend Norview High, the school nearest her home, instead of Booker T. Washington High, the school designated for African-American youths, across town.
She remembers being denied entrance into the National Honor Society, and fair grades in physics class. Over and over, she had to prove with tests and papers that she saved that she deserved better.
She remembers fearing on the night of her graduation that someone would hurt and stop the first black student to receive a diploma from Norview High and a desegregated high school in Virginia.
More than 50 years have passed since Patricia G. White made history as one of 17 African-American students to seek entrance into all-white Norfolk schools. The anger she felt in her struggle for equity has receded, she says. The value of what she learned has not.*
Patricia went on to get her B.S. from Washington College on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and was the first African-American female to do so. She married and is now Patricia Godbolt White. She taught and headed the Science Department at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, where she tried to instill values of diversity and perseverance in her students. She attends some of the events honoring the Norfolk 17. Patricia passed away on January 23, 2015.
The members of the Norfolk 17 were the true heroes of the school integration struggle in Norfolk, Virginia. As young men and women, they entered six of the previously all-white public schools in the city, persevering in the face of intense racial animosity. In doing so, they secured for themselves, their friends and family, and indeed their entire people, a new place in American society.
Introduction
Many members of the Norfolk 17 were too young to take notice of Brown v. Board of Education, when the case was decided in May 1954. Little did they know that the Supreme Court's historic decision would re-write the story of their lives. At the time, they all attended segregated black schools in Norfolk (or went to school in other locations). Although most of the students have fond memories of their all-black schools, they were well aware of the inequalities within Norfolk's public school system. They knew, for instance, that their textbooks always had the stamp of a nearby white school that had recently received up-dated books. They knew, too, that at white schools students didn't have to wear their coats inside during the winter or move buckets to collect rain water that fell from the ceiling. And, finally, they knew that it was the white community that dominated the city and state government, which was undertaking a strategy of Massive Resistance to the Brown decision to keep them out of white schools, businesses, and other public establishments.
During the spring and summer of 1958, the members of the Norfolk 17 were encouraged by their parents, church members, and local civil rights leaders to join with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in its attempt to enforce the Brown decision in Norfolk. At the time, not one public school in the city or state had been integrated, and the members of the Norfolk 17 took a great risk when they agreed to participate. By July 25, they had joined with 134 other students in an attempt to transfer from their black schools into the white schools of the city. This meant that the Norfolk 17 had to take a battery of academic and psychological tests overseen by the members of the school board. On August 18, the school board announced that all 151 transfer requests were denied. Yet, after meeting with District Court Judge Walter E. Hoffman, the board decided that it would grudgingly admit 17 of the 151 applicants to six of the city's all-white secondary schools.
This was not the end of the story, however. For, months earlier, the state legislature had passed legislation that empowered the governor to close any Virginia public school, which was “threatened” by integration. On September 29, 1958 six of Norfolk's formerly all-white schools were closed to avoid integration. More than 9,000 white students were kept from school, and the members of the Norfolk 17 were the targets of intense criticism and public scrutiny. They shared the white students' locked-out status, and they attended school at Bute Street Baptist Church during the winter of 1958.
Fittingly, on the anniversary of Robert E. Lee's birth, January 19, 1959, the Virginia State Supreme Court and the Federal District Court declared that the school closings in Norfolk were unconstitutional. Two weeks later, on February 2, 1959, the Norfolk 17 became the first African American students to attend the previously all-white schools in the largest school district in the state of Virginia.
The members of the Norfolk 17 faced many difficulties as they entered their new schools. They were spit at, cursed at, belittled, and ostracized. And yet, they met the challenge. Most took solace in their faith in God and his plan for them. They persevered through the hardships, graduated, and went on to achieve great things as members of the larger American community.
Members of the Norfolk 17
and the schools they attended
Northside Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 1400)
Geraldine Talley Hobby
Maury High School (enrollment ca. 2075)
Louis Cousins
Granby High School (enrollment ca. 2100)
Betty Jean Reed
Blair Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 1100)
Lolita Portis Reginald Young
Norview Jr. High School (enrollment ca. 2175)
LaVera Forbes
James Turner Jr.
Patricia Turner
Edward Jordan
Claudia Wellington
Norview High School (enrollment ca. 1100)
Andrew Heidelberg
Alvarez Frederick Gonsouland
Delores Johnson Brown
Johnnie Rouse
Olivia Driver Lindsay
Carol Wellington
Patricia Godbolt
Geraldine Talley was the only black student to enter Northside Jr. High School in 1959. She was 12 years old, entering the 7th grade. She was an extremely brave girl. At a 50th Anniversary program of Brown v. Board in 2004*, Geraldine said that what she endured was awful. She commented that she would be filled with nothing but hatred if it weren’t for a white girl, Diane, who was nice to her. Diane was from a military family. Talley was originally from New Jersey and couldn't understand what was happening in Norfolk. She has spoken about how even her teachers ignored her in middle school. When she went to Granby High School, however, an art teacher who recognized her talent took her under his wings and helped her.
Geraldine is writing a book about the six years she lived with the pain and suffering of integration. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 in the belief that
Louis Cousins was the only black student to attend Maury High School in 1959 at 15 years old. He graduated in 1962. The other members of the Norfolk 17 referred to Louis as "the professor" because of his intelligence. As witnessed in a much-publicized photograph, he too was ostracized. The photograph shows Maury's large auditorium with Louis Cousins isolated from the rest of the students. An article in the San Antonio Express-News* talks about how Cousins felt alone as he entered the school on his first day, amid "curious stares--and silence."
"This school was totally white, all white students," he said. "The only thing that might have been black was the staff that did the floors." Aside from the isolation, Cousins - like the other Norfolk 17 children - also endured taunts. He recalled students would sit on the brick wall around the school before classes began and hurl insults as he walked by. "We were called tar baby, nigger, Sambo in the hallways," recounted the 60-year-old Cousins. At his home, tormenters broke out windows and once burned a cross in his front yard to "symbolize the KKK," he said.
The only time he lost his composure, Cousins recalled, was when a student spat on him. Cousins chased the classmate down the hall and into the principal's office. The student later was suspended. After high school, Cousins joined the Air Force and worked as a medic in Vietnam. He lives in San Antonio, Texas and has retired as a medical technician. About the Norfolk 17, he believes that "we were there for a purpose... We were there to open the doors not only for ourselves, but for our race."
Lolita Portis, 12 years old, was one of two black students to attend Blair Jr. High School in 1959. Lolita was interviewed for the documentary "The Other Face of Dixie" (1962). She said that what helped her get through this trying time was that she was treated well by the teachers. Sam Ray, principal of Blair Jr. High School, recalled Lolita as "a girl who is now married and has children ... was a fine young lady. Both students adjusted beautifully." Ray stated that both of these students (Portis and Reginald Young) "went on and finished at Maury and to my knowledge had no problems at Maury."* But 50 years later, from her home in Nevada, Lolita told a fellow Norfolk 17 member that she has wanted to forget about that time.
Reginald Young was one of two black students to integrate Blair Junior High School when the schools reopened in 1959. He was in the 8th grade, 13 years old, and later graduated from Maury High School in 1963. Sam Ray, principal of Blair Middle School, recalled that both Reginald Young and Lolita Portis "went on and finished at Maury and to my knowledge had no problems at Maury. Reginald was the first black athlete that Maury High School had. He was an outstanding baseball player." Ray also stated that Reginald was "a very outstanding young man. In fact he was a law student at Stanford University. He was suddenly taken ill. Had a brain tumor and died."*
Reginald Young died in April 1977, before he had a chance to share his story and be recognized by the City of Norfolk for his bravery and courage.
LaVera Forbes attended Norview Jr. High School on February 2, 1959 as a 7th grader.
Like other Norfolk 17 members, LaVera blotted out a lot from that era because it was so painful. It is still painful to remember and painful to talk about.
At a 2004 program* honoring the Norfolk 17, LaVera recalled that she was actually stabbed in the back on one of her first days of school -- something that she only recently started talking about. Her father took her to the emergency room, but he and the lawyers told her she couldn't talk about it to anyone for fear of ruining chances of desegregation. So she held it in all these years.
She remembers how her "own people turned their backs" -- in the neighborhood, people wouldn't speak to her, would close their doors as she walked by. Old friends were forbidden to play with her.
LaVera lives in Norfolk, where she most recently worked in a bank until 2004. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17.
Skip Turner entered Norview Jr. High School in 1959 with his sister, Patricia Turner. He was 12 years old, entering 7th grade in February 1959.
He died in November, 2003 after suffering a stroke and heart attack. While his own recollections from this time period have not been recorded, his obituary* tells us that "he didn't talk much about that turbulent time.... 'He was quiet and reserved,' said his sister Patricia."
Turner went on to get a political science degree from Howard University and did graduate work at Central Michigan University and at the University of Kansas, where he was Director of Affirmative Action. In 1991, he returned to Hampton Roads, where he lived until his death in 2003.
Patricia Turner entered Norview Jr. High School in 1959, with her brother James and three other children. She was 14 years old, entering her final semester as an 8th grader.
Ms. Turner has spoken of the fact that she couldn't make friends. No one spoke to her -- except to call her names, spit on her, throw gum in her hair. But even worse than that is the behavior of her teachers. In an interview, she tells of the teachers who wore rubber gloves to receive her papers, or they had her drop her papers in a basket -- but mostly they just ignored her. Even though she qualified to play field hockey and was good at it, she never got to play because no other teams would play Norview if Patricia was going to play.
She did eventually make some friends when they realized that she was gifted in math and as a field hockey player. In spite of all of her hardships, Ms. Turner graduated #5-6 out of the over 400 seniors at Norview High School.
After high school, Ms. Turner moved to Richmond, then Philadelphia, then back home to Norfolk. She taught at Blair Middle School in Norfolk from 1992 until her retirement in 2008. She is proud to attend the many events honoring the 17.
Edward Jordan integrated Norview Jr. High School in 1959, as a 7th grader. His brother was Freddy Gonsouland who attended Norview High School.
As of early 2008, Mr. Jordan's recollections had not been recorded at any of the events honoring the Norfolk 17, nor by the press. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Claudia Wellington, born December 12, 1946, integrated Norview Junior High School with four other children. She was 12 years old. Her sister Carol attended Norview High School. Her experiences have not been recorded through the news media or other interviews. After leaving Virginia to continue high school, Claudia returned and graduated from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor in Science. She pursued a variety of careers and lived most recently in New York. She died there on December 28, 2004.
Andrew Heidelberg was a freshman in February of 1959 when he attended Norview High School with six other African-American children. He has spoken at many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 and has written a powerful memoir about his experiences (The Norfolk 17: A Personal Narrative on Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962). At 60 years old, speaking at a program in 2004*, he said that these programs always bring emotional flashbacks from that time in the late 50s. He said while he was in school, he thought that he might end up like Emmett Till. He was terrified and didn't understand why he couldn't just go to school and be a kid.
He told the story of watching 3 boys play baseball at school. He loved sports and envied these boys. He knew he couldn't join them, so he just watched from a distance. They saw him and started yelling at him, calling him unspeakable names, telling him to stop looking at them -- calling him "nigger" over and over. One boy hurled the baseball at Andrew's head, but Andrew ducked in time to miss it. One with a bat said he wanted to "kill a nigger today"; he told Andrew that after school he'd better be ready to die.
Andrew said he kept thinking to himself that he couldn't understand why he had to go through this. He was just a kid who wanted to go to school and not be bothered. He looked at his hands and wondered why God made him black, why he had to suffer like this.
Near the end of the school day, the principal called him to his office and made him stay there until after 5pm. He couldn't figure out why he had to be there. Later that evening, his friend Freddy Gonsouland (a fellow Norfolk 17 member) told him about the angry mob of white students who were wielding baseball bats, saying they were "going to kill a nigger." Andrew realized that the principal held him back to save his life.
Andrew said his story is a little different than the others -- it had another side, because he turned out to be a football star. When he was a junior, they didn't allow him to play, but when he was a senior, things changed. One comment he likes to make as he recounts his experiences is that when someone asked him if he was too light (weight) to play when he was a junior, he responded: "I wasn't too light, I was too dark." He said that more people accepted him because of his ability to play football. Andy passed away July 6, 2015.
See also: Heidelberg, Andrew I. 2006. The Norfolk 17: A personal narrative on desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962. Pittsburgh, Pa.: RoseDog Books. (LC214.23.N75.H45 2006)
Freddy Gonsouland integrated Norview High School with six other black children, while his brother Eddie Jordan attended Norview Middle School. In an email, he said that he has tried to put the experience behind him, but he understands that it is valuable for people to know what happened during Norfolk's desegregation crisis. We can learn a bit about Freddy through the recollections of classmate, Andrew Heidelberg. In Andrew's memoir, The Norfolk 17: A Personal Narrative on Desegregation in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1958-1962, he recalls how Freddy helped him get through the first day. Freddy was not as terrified as Andrew, and his presence made Andrew feel safe on that walk to school. After one semester, Freddy petitioned the school to return to the all-black Booker T. Washington High School.
Gonsouland lives in Maryland, and he attended some of the 50th anniversary events in 2009.
Delores Johnson, one of seven children to integrate Norview High School, was 16 and a junior in February 1959.
She has been interviewed and has participated in some of the events honoring the Norfolk 17. She remembers that she wanted to take physical education classes, and she considered majoring in physical education. But, she was not allowed to take PE at Norview High School. They told her they were afraid she would dirty the showers for the other girls.
She recalls that when she sat down in her first class on her first day, everyone moved away from her. Her teachers were not welcoming either; they chose to ignore her. She also recounts how long it took her to get home from school on the first day. NAACP lawyers were driving her home, as they did some of the other children, because they wanted them to get home safely and didn’t want anyone to know where the children lived. After hours of driving around, she asked why they weren’t taking her home – they told her they were being followed. She turned around and saw a car with 6 large white men following closely. She did not get home until 9pm.
She also remembers that she carried all of her books, rather than taking a chance stopping at her locker. She also would not dare use the restroom, for fear of being cornered. One day a boy walked into her and knocked all of her books down – she gathered them up as fast as she could, with no help from anyone. They all just stared. She realized she had been cut, but she said nothing, just picked up her books and moved on.
In spite of everything, she says she “wouldn’t trade the experience. But, it was not easy.”
Johnson married and is now Delores Johnson Brown. She received her MA in Education in 1975 and a Certificate in Advanced Studies in 1981-82, both from Old Dominion University. In 1996, she retired
Johnnie Rouse, at 15 years old, integrated Norview High School with six other children.
In an interview, Rouse recalled that some students tried to pick fights with her. But she was defiant and stood her ground. "Eventually, she said, they decided she was a little 'crazy' and let her be." Because she wasn't able to buy tickets for school events, she had white friends buy them for her. "She said she was determined to have a high-school experience like anyone else's. 'I said, "I'm not going to be afraid," and I wasn't'." *
About the long-delayed recognition by the City of Norfolk in 2002, Rouse said: "It's truly an honor that somebody recognizes that you were one of the front- runners," she said. "That you made it possible to end . . . separate but unequal."
Olivia Driver was one of seven students to integrate Norview High School.
Olivia recalls being spat upon, having things thrown at her, being called names that can't be repeated - the 17 students endured all of this. It was definitely violent, even though the press reported that there was no violence. It may not have been what the public expected, but the Norfolk 17 felt it and lived it for several years of their lives.
As she mentioned at a program honoring the Norfolk 17*, Lindsay believes that the city tried to prevent integration for years. She commented that Old Dominion University and Norfolk General Hospital wouldn't be here if not for people trying to keep blacks out of white schools. [She is referring to the urban development that tried to keep neighborhoods segregated, so that schools could be segregated.]
Olivia Driver married and is now Olivia Driver Lindsay. She lives in Norfolk and is a retired teacher. She attends many of the events honoring the Norfolk 17 because it is important that their story be told and remembered.
Carol Wellington was 15 years old when she and six others integrated Norview High School. Her sister Claudia attended Norview Junior High School.
Carol resides in Homewood, Illinois.
Until 2009, her experiences had not been recorded through the news media or other interviews. She participated in many of the 50th anniversary events and shared some of her recollections in WHRO's "The Norfolk 17: Their Story."
Patricia Godbolt integrated Norview High School with six other black children in February of 1959. She was a senior.
As a newspaper reporter tells it:
Patricia Godbolt White remembers a cross burning that was staged at her door to scare her from attending an all-white high school.
She remembers the threats and taunts that were part of her life when she crossed the color barrier and dared to attend Norview High, the school nearest her home, instead of Booker T. Washington High, the school designated for African-American youths, across town.
She remembers being denied entrance into the National Honor Society, and fair grades in physics class. Over and over, she had to prove with tests and papers that she saved that she deserved better.
She remembers fearing on the night of her graduation that someone would hurt and stop the first black student to receive a diploma from Norview High and a desegregated high school in Virginia.
More than 50 years have passed since Patricia G. White made history as one of 17 African-American students to seek entrance into all-white Norfolk schools. The anger she felt in her struggle for equity has receded, she says. The value of what she learned has not.*
Patricia went on to get her B.S. from Washington College on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and was the first African-American female to do so. She married and is now Patricia Godbolt White. She taught and headed the Science Department at Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, where she tried to instill values of diversity and perseverance in her students. She attends some of the events honoring the Norfolk 17. Patricia passed away on January 23, 2015.