Tasha Pope (white jacket), the daughter of Arlene Thompson, embraces Faizah Hough, the daughter of Harriett Thompson, on Monday, April 14, 2025, during a ceremony at Patrick Henry High School in Hanover County honoring their mothers — the school's first Black students.
New plaques commemorate the eight students who crossed racial lines at two county high schools.
The night before the first day of school in fall 1963, 15-year-old Walter Lee’s confidence was fading.
Nine years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial discrimination in schools in Brown v. Board of Education, Hanover County’s NAACP chapter and faith communities were struggling to find families willing to cross racial lines and integrate the county’s public schools, out of fear of retribution.
Eight students, including Lee, had accepted the offer. But as the start of the semester approached, fear crept in.
“That night, it kind of hit me that I was about to experience something I’ve never experienced in my life.” Lee told VPM News. “I never really got on my knees and prayed before, but that night, I prayed for all of us to be safe and to get through this — and God answered that prayer.”
More than 60 years later, Hanover commemorated the bravery of the eight students in ceremonies at the two schools they integrated: Mechanicsville and Patrick Henry high schools.
Lee integrated Mechanicsville High — then called Lee-Davis High — alongside his brother Nobert, their cousin Phyllis Lee (now Phyllis Archer), Raymond Bagby and sisters Blanche and Jacqueline Holmes; sisters Arlene and Harriett Thompson were the first Black students enrolled at Patrick Henry.
The three Lees — the only surviving members of the integrating group — stood side by side Monday at Mechanicsville High as county officials unveiled a plaque embossed with their high school portraits.
The plaque is “more than just a tribute,” School Superintendent Lisa Pennycuff said at Monday’s ceremony. “It is a reminder to each student that walks by that their presence matters.”
“These brave Hanover County citizens whose names are engraved on these plaques were able to open the door to this educational experience,” School Board Chair Bob May said Monday. “Your school board is extremely proud to share in this moment.”
Shaban Athuman
/
VPM News
Walter Lee is recognized along with Phyllis (Lee) Archer and Norbert Lee during a tribute to honor them as first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
"A long time coming"
The journey to April’s ceremonies started last year, when Hanover NAACP President Pat Hunter-Jordan approached former school board member Ola Hawkins about an opportunity to celebrate the history of the county’s integration.
“I’m so grateful to Ms. Hawkins and the school board for taking up this cause for us,” Hunter-Jordan told VPM News. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Hunter-Jordan has long been a vocal advocate for preserving Black history in the county’s school system. When John M. Gandy Elementary School — the first school for Black students in Hanover to have central heat and indoor plumbing — and Henry Clay Elementary were consolidated for the 2024-25 school year, Hunter-Jordan helped lead the push to name the new school after Gandy, the third president of what is now Virginia State University.
State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D–Chesterfield) attended the Mechanicsville ceremony and said Hanover’s integration is a vital part of Virginia’s history.
“The history of desegregation, particularly in Virginia, is so important to our overall history of the Civil Rights Movement and our efforts to bring equity, justice and progress to so many of our communities,” Hashimi told VPM News. “Sadly, as we see the erasure of such history, we have students and families in this area who simply don't understand what effort it took to ensure that there was equal opportunity for every child in Virginia. We must continue to honor this legacy.”
Scars of the past, lessons for the future
After Monday’s ceremony, Walter Lee reflected on his teenage years and his willingness to thrust himself into a hostile environment: “When I was young, I was kind of a cocky person. When they asked me to go to this school, I said yes without thinking too much about it.”
Lee said he is proud to have received a worthwhile education, but the scars from the past still remain. He and his brother Norbert faced racial slurs and other intimidation tactics throughout the school day.
“It was a horrible time,” Walter Lee said.
Norbert remembered the name-calling and isolation too. He said people treated Walter “like he was not human, some type of animal.”
“I didn’t know people could be so mean,” Norbert Lee said. “I had never experienced that before.”
Phyllis Archer, Walter and Norbert’s cousin, said their family’s faith helped them make it through the difficult experience.
“Somebody had to do it,” Archer told VPM News. ”I think this was our assignment, this particular eight — the integrated Hanover schools. It was one of our purposes. God had planned it this way for these particular teenagers to do that.”
She added: “Looking back on it, I'm glad that we did do it, and I'm glad that we made it.”
At Patrick Henry, Arlene and Harriett Thompson were memorialized by their children — including Arlene’s daughter Tasha Pope and Harriett’s son Stanley Johnson, both of whom brought their own children to the ceremony.
“A lot of people know Ruby Bridges,” Pope told VPM News, referring to the then-6-year-old girl who integrated an all-white New Orleans school in 1960. “We know of Arlene Thompson and Harriett Thompson, who paved the way for many. We are honored to carry on their legacy.”
Johnson said being able to share the moment with the next generation made the ceremony particularly special.
“To have our children witness this firsthand, knowing this kind of legacy is embedded in our family history,” he said, “it means the world to me.”
1 of 19 — Family and Friends stand on unstage to unvaile a plaque honoring their family, who intergrated Hanover County Schools
Tasha Pope, daughter of Arlene Thompson, joins Faizah Hough, daughter of Harriett Thompson, and others in unavailing a plaque honoring their parents, first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School, on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
2 of 19 — Family and Friends applaud after a plaque is unvailed
Family and Friends applaud during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
3 of 19 — Pope and Hough embrace while looking at a plaque honoring their mothers
Tasha Pope, white jacket, daughter of Arlene Thompson, embraces Faizah Hough, daughter of Harriett Thompson, during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School, their mothers, on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
4 of 19 — Johnson looks on tensely
Jasmyne Johnson, 13, looks on as her dad helps unveil a plaque honoring her grandmother during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
5 of 19 — The decendents of Hanover County’s first Black students embrace
Antwan Johnson, right, son of Harriett Thompson, embraces Faizah Hough, daughter of Harriett Thompson, as Tasha Pope, daughter of Arlene Thompson, is embraced by Stanley Johnson, son of Harriett Thompson, following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School, their parents, on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
6 of 19 — Attendee join hands in prayers
Hanover County NAACP President Patricia Hunter-Jordan joins hands with former Hanover County School Board member Ola Hawkins, in prayer along Stanley Johnson, son of Harriett Thompson, and Tasha Pope, daughter of Arlene Thompson, during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
7 of 19 — Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother to her daughter
Faizah Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother, Harriett Thompson, to her daughter, Kaylen Hough 12, following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
8 of 19 — Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother to her daughter
Faizah Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother, Harriett Thompson, to her daughter, Kaylen Hough 12, following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
9 of 19 — Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother to her daughter
Faizah Hough shows a plaque honoring her mother, Harriett Thompson, to her daughter, Kaylen Hough 12, following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
10 of 19 — A portrait of Thompson, in a fading afternoon light
Herald Thompson is photographed following an event honoring the first students to integrate Patrick Henry High School, his elder siblings, on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Hanover, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
11 of 19 — A person reads a program
A person reads a program during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
12 of 19 — The first students to intergrate Hanover County’s public schools are recognized by family, friends and others
Walter Lee is recognized along with Phyllis (Lee) Archer and Norbert Lee during a tribute to honor them as first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
13 of 19 — Halll listens amongst others
Junior Hall, 8, listens along with other attendee during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
14 of 19 — Family members unvail a plaque
Family and friends unveil a plaque honoring the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
15 of 19 — Lee looks on while standing next to a plaque
Walter Lee looks on as family and friends take photos during a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
16 of 19 — Sen. Hashmi shakes hands with Lee
Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, shakes hands with Walter Lee following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
17 of 19 — 20250421_HANOVE_MECHANICSVILLE_SA
Neshia Murray takes a picture of a plaque honoring the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
18 of 19 — Archer chats with her grand daughter Guy following a tribute
Phyllis (Lee) Archer chats with her grand daughter, Noah Guy, 9, following a tribute to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools, including Archer, on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
Shaban Athuman / VPM News
19 of 19 — Lee Shakes hands with Hawkins
Former Hanover County School Board member Ola Hawkins shakes hands with Walter Lee following an event to honor the first students to integrate Hanover County’s Public Schools, including Lee, on Monday, April 21, 2025 in Mechanicsville, Virginia.
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