In a poignant moment that captivated the full house audience at the Meridian High School Winter Band Concert earlier this month, Marian Costner Selby offered a glimpse back in time to 1961, when she began her sophomore year at the school (then known as George Mason High School) as its first Black student. It was then that Falls Church City Public Schools finally took its turn in ending America’s policy of school segregation following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown Vs. Board of Education ruling of 1954.
In the fall of 1957, the eyes of the nation were fixated on Little Rock, Arkansas, where nine brave students, widely known as “The Nine,” stepped up to integrate Little Rock Central High School. That year, on September 4, the Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, called in the Arkansas National Guard to prevent these Black students from entering, justifying the move by claiming he was attempting to “preserve the peace” in face of threats of violence. Just under three weeks later, on September 23, President Eisenhower issued an Executive Order federalizing the Arkansas Guard, ordering them to escort the students into the school instead of keeping them out. Community opponents of integration demonstrated viciously outside the school, with displays of intimidation, threats, and hostility that underscored the prevalent deep-seated racism of the time. It was all reported on the national news.
In Virginia — home to one of the five cases involved in the Brown vs. Board decision (the others were Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, and Washington D.C.) — the desegregation mandate was met with extreme defiance. In 1955 a plan to repeal compulsory school attendance was nearly implemented, and in 1956 a policy of “massive resistance” was adopted. In 1959, the school systems in Charlottesville, Front Royal and Norfolk were shut down. For years that followed, and in myriad ways, a widespread and coordinated effort ferociously blocked efforts to integrate any Virginia school.
As she recounted in her remarks this month, on her first day of school in Falls Church in 1961, Selby remembers a boisterous school bus falling entirely silent as she boarded. The driver, whom she sat behind, then asked her — in an apparent attempt to make conversation — how she liked America. Selby responded with a question of her own: “compared to what?” Her response highlighted the absurdity of the question, underscoring the fact that Selby, an American citizen, had never been to another country. Shortly thereafter, Selby says, the name-calling began.
Back then, Selby’s mere presence at George Mason High School triggered backlash from many in the community, as she recalled.
Disturbingly, her home (which notably shared the same address as the current News-Press office building) became a target for acts of intimidation, with a burning cross placed on her front lawn as a chilling symbol of racial hatred.
In another harrowing incident, Selby said a voodoo doll representing her was left at her doorway, underscoring the depth of prejudice she faced. “I noticed that all the needles were stuck into the doll’s back,” Selby noted, continuing “which meant they couldn’t face me. Cowards.”
The hateful response extended beyond individual acts of hatred. Selby shared her memory of when several adults came to her house to speak to her parents. The nearby Army-Navy Country Club, which had been the venue for the George Mason High School Prom for years, had — in a stark display of racism — informed the school that if Selby attempted to attend, she would not be allowed to enter. They shared that ANCC had told them, in a brazen admission of their discriminatory policies, that “We’ve never allowed a n* into our club, and we aren’t about to start now.”
The school decided to relocate the prom, allowing Selby to attend.
The hostility Selby encountered in Falls Church was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader struggle faced by Selby and others in the face of deep-rooted prejudices that permeated communities across the nation.
Selby’s shared experience serves as a testament to the enduring struggle for equality and justice, and a reminder that progress — though often slow and fraught with challenges — is essential for creating a more just and inclusive society. Despite the challenges she faced, Selby told the Meridian High School students, “I want to let you know that the good things far outweighed the bad and the ugly.”
As the event marked a commemoration of the courage and perseverance of Marian Costner Selby and others who blazed a trail towards equal access to public education, it was also cause for reflection on the work that remains to be done, Costner noted. Selby’s closing words provided an appropriate end to this story. “When I graduated, it was from George Mason High School. Now it is Meridian High School. I know the name has changed. I want to let you know that we have to do more than just changing a name. We need to make sure that our hearts change, our mindset is changed, and we start viewing others, no matter where they come from, what they look like… [with] some compassion. Get to know them. You may be surprised. You might like them.”
Selby’s appearance this month was her first for Falls Church City Public Schools. She was the subject of an interview by Darien Bates in the Falls Church News-Press in 2005 when the story of Falls Church’s struggle to integrate its schools was first recounted in-depth in an exclusive, lengthy two-part series.
