Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County

The second section of the book, entitled “The Lost Generation,” begins with the author’s personal history, from college through her early adult years working as a reporter. Green emphasizes how naïve she was when she arrived at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She had grown up in a kind of bubble, not exposed to the larger world or many nonwhite people. In college she met a diverse group of students and, in her journalism class, learned to double-check information rather than take a statement as fact just because the person who delivered it was nice. After college, she worked as a reporter, first in Oregon and then in San Diego. She made friends with people of all backgrounds, broadening her horizons.

The rest of the chapter continues the story of the school closings, detailing local leaders’ efforts to get the new all-white private school, Prince Edward Academy, up and running in three months. They recruited Robert Redd from a local primary school to serve as the Academy’s first headmaster. A local businessman, Roy Pearson, joined the school’s board, offering critical leadership. The staff located office space and classrooms in local churches and other buildings that were only used on weekends.