Robert Russa Moton Museum

06/02/2026

𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒏

We're honored to see the Robert Russa Moton Museum included in Smithsonian Magazine's feature on six historic sites along Virginia's Civil Rights Trail that helped change America.

From the student-led strike organized by Barbara Rose Johns in 1951 to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that followed, the Moton story continues to draw visitors from across the Commonwealth and around the nation.

If you're looking for meaningful places to explore in Virginia, we invite you to add Farmville and the Robert Russa Moton Museum to your travel plans.

Read the Smithsonian article:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/virginias-civil-rights-trail-six-historic-sites-that-changed-america-180988675/

📍 Farmville, Virginia
🎟 Free Admission

Explore powerful sites along Virginia’s Civil Rights Trail where student activism, peaceful protest, and landmark legal battles helped reshape the nation’s fight for equality

06/02/2026

A classroom in Prince Edward County helped change the course of American history. ❤️

The Robert Russa Moton Museum was recently featured by Smithsonian Magazine as one of six stops on Virginia’s Civil Rights Trail that changed America. From the 1951 student walkout led by Barbara Johns to its role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, Moton’s story is one everyone should experience.

Walk through history, stand where students sparked a movement, and discover why Prince Edward County remains such an important part of the American story.

Plan your visit to the Moton Museum and explore more of Prince Edward County while you are here. 📍

06/02/2026

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰?

Over 65 years ago today, Prince Edward County voted to close its entire public school system rather than comply with school desegregation.

The decision left Black children and many poor white children without local public schools from 1959 to 1964.

The fight that began with the 1951 student strike at Robert Russa Moton High School did not end with Brown v. Board of Education. In Prince Edward County, the struggle for equal education continued for another decade. It would take a second landmark Supreme Court case, Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, to force the reopening of the county's public schools in 1964.

Today, visitors to the Robert Russa Moton Museum can explore this remarkable chapter of American history and learn how students, families, clergy, attorneys, and community members helped shape the future of public education.

📍 Robert Russa Moton Museum
🕛 Open Monday–Saturday, 12 PM–4 PM
🎟 Free Admission

06/01/2026

𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭, 𝟏𝟎𝟓 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫



Today marks the 105th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in American history.

Over the course of May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked Tulsa's Greenwood District, a thriving Black community often known as "Black Wall Street." Homes, churches, schools, and businesses were destroyed. Hundreds of Black residents were killed, thousands were displaced, and generations of wealth and opportunity were lost. Historical estimates suggest that as many as 300 people may have died in the violence.

The destruction began after Black residents organized to help protect a young Black man from a threatened lynching. What followed was a coordinated attack that left much of Greenwood in ruins. More than a century later, researchers, historians, and descendants continue to work to uncover the full scope of what occurred.

No white rioters were convicted for their actions, and survivors received no compensation for the homes, businesses, and property they lost. In 2001, Oklahoma approved funding for redevelopment efforts and a memorial to help preserve the history of Greenwood. Today, the Greenwood Cultural Center stands in the same community, committed to preserving and sharing the history of Black Wall Street.

As institutions across the country continue to preserve and share this history, new efforts toward repair are still unfolding. Last year, Tulsa's first Black mayor, Monroe Nichols, announced a $105 million initiative intended to support descendants and address the lasting impacts of the massacre.

History asks us not only to remember what happened, but to understand its impact. On this day, we remember the people, families, businesses, and community that made Greenwood a place of promise—and the lives forever changed by its destruction.

05/30/2026

📸 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚

Without Googling...

What year did the student strike at Robert Russa Moton High School take place?

A. 1948 B. 1951 C. 1954 D. 1964

Drop your answer below ⬇️

We'll reveal the answer later today and share why that moment became one of the most significant events in Virginia's civil rights history.

05/28/2026

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐜𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲: 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐬

📜 Mary McLeod Bethune, pioneering educator, presidential advisor, and civil rights leader, left behind a powerful legacy through her “Last Will and Testament,” a reflection of the values she hoped future generations would carry forward.
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These nine maxims continue to speak across generations, rooted in education, dignity, faith, and collective progress.
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▪︎ Love: “Love builds. It is positive and helpful.”

▪︎ Hope: “The Negro's growth will be great in the years to come.”
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▪︎ Confidence in one another: “Band together for economic betterment.”
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▪︎ Thirst for education: “Knowledge is the prime need of the hour.”
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▪︎ Respect for the uses of power: “Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom.”
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▪︎ Faith: “Faith in God is the greatest power.”
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▪︎ Racial dignity: “Maintain human dignity at all costs.”
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▪︎ Harmonious living: “Live harmoniously with your fellow men.”
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▪︎ Responsibility to youth: “The world around us really belongs to youth.”
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Her words remain a reminder that progress is built through purpose, community, and the courage to invest in future generations.
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Learn more about her life and legacy:
https://www.nps.gov/mamc/index.htm⁠�
⠀

05/27/2026

𝐀𝐝𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 ☀️🛣️

Summer is road trip season, and as America approaches its 250th anniversary, there’s no better time to explore the places where history truly happened.

If your travels bring you through Virginia, make Farmville part of the journey and visit the Robert Russa Moton Museum, the birthplace of America’s student-led Civil Rights Movement.

In 1951, students at Robert Russa Moton High School, led by 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns, took a stand against unequal conditions, helping spark a movement that changed public education in America.

Today, visitors from across the country walk those same halls at the Robert Russa Moton Museum, a National Historic Landmark, featured site on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail , and anchor site on
Virginia’s Civil Rights in Education Heritage Trail®.

These trails connect travelers to the communities, landmarks, and stories that shaped the fight for civil rights and educational opportunity in America.

We’re also grateful to Virginia is for Lovers for helping share Virginia’s civil rights stories through the nationally recognized U.S. Civil Rights Trail Podcast series. 🎧

As a proud commemorative partner of VA250 - American Revolution 250 Commission , we invite visitors to experience the places and stories that helped shape the American story ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Whether you’re traveling solo, bringing the family, or planning a group tour, we invite you to stop in and experience this history for yourself.

📍 Robert Russa Moton Museum
🕛 Monday–Saturday | 12 PM–4 PM
🎟️ Free Admission
📍 Farmville, Virginia

Plan your visit:
www.motonmuseum.org

Explore the trails and podcast:
https://virginia.org/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/us-civil-rights-trail/

05/26/2026

𝐈𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟏, students at Robert Russa Moton High School walked out to protest unequal conditions, helping spark the Davis case that became part of Brown v. Board of Education. But in Prince Edward County, the fight for equal education did not end with Brown.

Rather than integrate, local leaders closed the county’s entire public school system from 1959–1964 during Massive Resistance, leaving Black children without public education for five years. Rev. L. Francis Griffin, Sr. became one of the leading voices demanding schools reopen, helping pave the way for the landmark Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County decision in 1964.

This year marks 75 years since the Moton student strike and 62 years since the Griffin decision, two moments forever connected in the long fight for educational equality in America.

: Rev. Griffin’s daughter, Cocheyse “Cookie” Griffin-Epps, became the first in her family to graduate from the newly renamed Prince Edward County High School in 1971. Her achievement reflected not only personal determination, but the legacy of a father who never stopped fighting for the education of Black children in Prince Edward County.

Read more about Cocheyse Griffin-Epps and other inspiring stories in Moton Magazine, Vol. III: All Eyes on Prince Edward County.
https://issuu.com/greenwoodlibrary/docs/all_eyes_on_prince_edward_county_split