ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VA (Rocktown Now) — Rockingham County Public Schools, Rocktown History, and the Moton Museum will host an event to honor civil rights pioneers who fought for equal access to public education in Virginia.

On May 17 at 10am, the new state historical marker, “Resilience Amid Resistance”, will be unveiled in front of the Federal Courthouse at 116 North Main Street. The marker commemorates the groundbreaking legal battles that helped dismantle Massive Resistance and enforce school desegregation in the Commonwealth.

Betty Kilby, lead plaintiff in Kilby v. Warren County, Alex-Zan, youngest member of the “Charlottesville 12” in Allen v. Charlottesville, and Anne Holton, former Virginia Secretary of Education and professor at George Mason University will all be in attendance and share their firsthand accounts of their roles in Virginia’s school desegregation fight.

The “Resilience Amid Resistance” marker was spearheaded by former Spotswood High School students Pria Dua and Elizabeth Kidd, whose research on Virginia’s school desegregation history inspired the initiative. Their work was also park of a national recognized documentary project, “Knocking Down Walls”, which brought attention to the struggles and triumphs of students who broke barriers in the 1950s and 60s.

Following the ceremony, at 12:30pm at Rocktown History, students from the Farmville Tour Guides Project will present a companion museum exhibit exploring the broader fight for school equality in Virginia. The student-led project demonstrates how history continues to inform today’s conversations about justice and education.