CC schools honor historian, marchers for Black History month

Richard Bowman (center) is recognized for his contributions to providing equal education for all students during a February 2014 ceremony at Charles City High School.

Andre' Jones photo

Charles City resident Richard Bowman gained the moniker of “unofficial county historian” for a reason.

Still vibrant at the age of 85, Bowman, along with former students of Ruthville High School who walked out of school for equal rights, were honored at Charles City’s High School black history program last Friday.

Bowman addressed middle and high school students about his numerous attempts to get his children enrolled in Charles City High School, an all-white school at the time.

“My interest began in 1958,” said Bowman, commenting about the federal ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education. “Even though it was passed by the federal government, the state of Virginia decided to take a different route and ignored the ruling, setting its own barriers.”

The historian spoke about the process of signing statements to enroll his children in schools. He refused to sign the documents to enroll his students in Ruthville High School, an all-black school. With the local government refusing to do anything about segregation in the county, Bowman took matters into his own hands.

In 1963, Bowman applied to transfer his five youngest children into the school. The response didn’t come quickly, as he expected opponents to pressure him to withdraw his application.

“A former supervisor of Charles City said the county was perfect,” the historian said. “He did not understand we were living in two different worlds.

“I would never surrender the right of my offspring to say the system is as right as it is,” Bowman added.

Bowman fought for requirements to be less restrictive for black students to enter a white school. His case was heard in the United States Fourth Appellate Court in Richmond on Oct. 19, 1967. While progress was made, it failed.

Undeterred, an appeal to the United States Supreme Court ensued. On May 22, 1968, the courts ruled the methodology used was not a proper plan to decide freedom of choice.

“That battle was lost, but it was far from over,” Bowman said.

In 1970, black students joined in on Bowman’s movement. More than 300 pupils marched two miles from Ruthville High School to Charles City High School on two consecutive days, protesting and making headlines in Virginia for equal education. In fall of 1971, Charles City was ordered by the courts to dismantle the process of enrolling a student in a school system, thus ending segregation in county schools.

Now, Bowman spreads his message and relayed a message to students about times when they face trouble or situations that seem hard to overcome.

“It’s still good to have hope,” he said. “Change has come and change will still evolve into a better situation.”

Bowman, along with members of the march, received a standing ovation from students and school staff. They were also honored with gifts, including newspaper clippings of the event.

“Remember that you can do things to cause positive things to happen,” concluded Bowman.