Lessons of the Sixties: A history of local Washington, DC activism for peace and justice from 1960-1975: James G. Stockard papers

James G. Stockard (1915-2002), a local advocate for desegregation of public schools, served three terms on the Arlington School Board of Education. Stockard was born in Texas in 1915. After graduating in 1936 with a degree in business administration from the University of Texas, Stockard went on to receive a master’s in public administration from American University. Stockard worked for many years for the U.S. Census Bureau, General Services Administration, Department of State, and U.S. Postal service before retiring and becoming and independent management consultant in 1972. In addition to working, Stockard was also a member of the school board of Arlington, VA between 1955-1968.

Stockard and his wife first moved to Arlington in 1941 and became active in the Parent Teacher Associations for each one of their three children’s schools. Stockard joined the school board in 1955. The landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education had only been resolved the year before Stockard became board chair. Brown V Board of Education of Topeka declared that state laws allowing separate schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. A year later, the desegregation order known as Brown II was delivered stating that schools should be desegregated “with all deliberate speed.” In the state of Virginia there were two main reactions to the supreme court case. In more southern parts of Virginia, the public school systems were closed for five years to avoid integration. In Northern Virginia the locals were more open to desegregation but there were still significant pushbacks.



As Chairman of the Arlington school board, Stockard helped navigate the schools during a time of turmoil as they were under court order to desegregate the schools. There was a massive pushback from local officials to resist any integration. The school board had resisted to integration initially due to a 1958 Virginia State law that ordered that schools close to resist desegregation. That same year, Stockard was one of two member to vote to allow black students to apply for admission to some of Arlington’s all white schools. The NAACP spent the summer of 1958 in court fighting for black students to gain entry into white schools. In September 1958, the NAACP succeeded when U.S. District Judge Albert V. Bryan Sr. ruled that four black seventh graders entered the all-white Stratford Junior High School in the next semester. On January 19, 1959 the Virginia Supreme Court and federal appeals court ruled that the resistance laws were unconstitutional. The segregationists swore that they would block the children attending Stratford school so the county police prepared for a riot. When the time came for the four students to start the rioters did not show up.