After Stratford

When four Black students entered Stratford Junior High School for the first time, it did not signal an end to segregation in Virginia, or even in Arlington. Desegregation is not integration. While Arlington had taken the first step by allowing a few students to break through the wall of segregation, most students would continue to attend largely segregated schools. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1971 that Arlington adopted a pupil-placement system that was sufficiently non-race-based to gain court approval.

Moreover, many places in Arlington still excluded Blacks, from lunch counters to taxis, and even the local hospital.