ODU Libraries Virtual Book Displays

The Desegregation of Virginia Education (DOVE) collection contains memoirs, photographs, newspaper clippings and other periodicals, correspondence, meeting minutes, and legal papers. The collection focuses on events, legal cases, media coverage, and photographs of desegregation in Virginia. Specific regions represented in the collection are the City of Norfolk, Prince Edward County, Farmville, Charlottesville and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Of note are a number of legal opinions, decrees and orders written by Judge Walter Hoffman regarding various legal cases related to desegregation of Virginia’s schools. A catalog of DOVE material across Virginia can be found on the DOVE website.
Oral histories conducted as part of DOVE are available in the Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections.

The 46 photograph prints (contact printed from the original 6.5" X 8.5" glass plate negatives) presented in this collection show some of the people and businesses of Norfolk, Virginia about one year after war ended on the western front in 1918. The anonymous photographer was clearly interested in certain kinds of businesses as the pictures feature scenes that other observers tended to miss. Rather than portraying the political leaders and the finest homes in Norfolk, the unknown photographer depicted small shop owners and employees, along with a few of their customers. Of the handful of photographs that have been identified, all were taken of the small businesses on East Main or nearby streets.
Also included with the photographs is a study done by Dr. Peter Stewart, ODU History Professor and Local Historian.

This collection primarily contains material related to the integration of the Norfolk public schools. The papers include correspondence, court cases, school board resolutions, inter-district memorandum, press releases, reports, news clippings and district maps. Subjects covered are the 1958 school closing to prevent integration, integration progress in the 1960s, busing to achieve integration in the 1970s and the end of busing in the mid-1980s. Among the most important historical materials is correspondence between Governor Lindsay Almond and the School Administration, beginning with the letter ordering the closing of six Norfolk schools as mandated by the "Massive Resistance" law. While most of the collection deals with desegregation, it also includes school directories and calendars before and after desegregation. Parts of the collection have been scanned and are available in the Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections.

The collection primarily concerns the operation of Ocean View Amusement Park in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Seaside and Seaview amusement parks in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The parks were owned and operated by Dudley Cooper from the 1940s to the 1970s. The collection contains correspondence, legal documents, financial records, photographs, scrapbooks, and architectural drawings of the park. Of particular note is a scrapbook of news clippings from Seaview Amusement Park, an African American amusement park in Virginia Beach operated during segregation in Virginia. While the bulk of the collection pertains to the amusement parks, there are a few personal items related to Dudley Cooper, including certificates and a Maury High School yearbook. Parts of the collection have been digitized and are available in the Old Dominion University Libraries Digital Collections.

This collection is a portfolio of 46 prints mounted on Bristol board like material. The photographs show different parts of Norfolk including: Little Creek Road, Hampton Boulevard, Granby Street, Downtown, and Wards Corner. Notable locations and events include a local gay bar called Nutty Buddy's, Norfolk Naval homecomings, The Hague, Oceanview, and Waterside. The photographs are artistic in nature, particularly in the style of street photography. The photographs have unique compositions and subject matter. The photographs are labeled with the title of the photo and the name of the photographer. Most of the photographs are in black and white, but there are some photographs in color.