Prince Edward County, Virginia has a significant place in Black history, particularly due to its role in the civil rights movement and landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. In 1951, a group of African American students in Prince Edward County protested the poor conditions of their segregated schools by initiating a strike known as the "Moton School Strike." This strike led to the lawsuit Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, which was later consolidated into the larger Brown v. Board of Education case.

The Brown v. Board of Education case, which challenged the legality of racial segregation in public schools, resulted in a Supreme Court decision in 1954 declaring segregation unconstitutional. Despite this ruling, Prince Edward County officials defied the court's decision and refused to desegregate their schools. In 1959, Prince Edward County closed all public schools rather than integrate, in an event known as the "Massive Resistance."

For five years, from 1959 to 1964, the county's public schools remained closed in what became known as the "Lost Generation" of students. During this time, the white community established a segregated private academy, while many Black children were left without access to formal education. It wasn't until the 1964 Supreme Court decision in Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County that ordered the schools to reopen and desegregate.

The events in Prince Edward County underscore the struggles faced by African Americans in their fight for equal rights and access to education during the civil rights movement. The resilience and determination of the Black community in Prince Edward County in the face of systemic discrimination and injustice have left a lasting legacy in American history.