The Defenders of State Sovereignty and
Individual Liberties, a grassroots political organization created in Petersburg in October 1954,
was dedicated to preserving strict racial segregation in Virginia's public
schools. A group of prominent Southside leaders formed the group following Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the U.S.
Supreme Court decision, handed down on May 17, 1954, that mandated the desegregation of
public schools. Opening chapters across the state and employing a
variety of tactics, the. . .
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