The board of visitors of Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, has passed a formal resolution apologizing for his actions during the civil rights era.
In the resolution, the board said the university neglected to stand up for equal rights when the public school system in the surrounding county closed for five years rather than submit to racial integration. The resolution states that “Longwood caused real and lasting offense and pain to our community with its use of eminent domain to facilitate campus expansion, an acted with particular insensitivity with regard to the relocation of a house of worship.”
The resolution concluded that the university “expresses its profound regret for these institutional actions, and apologizes to those who have been hurt.”
In an effort to make amends, the university has established the Moton Legacy scholarship program “to provide financial assistance for Longwood students with a demonstrated commitment to the cause of quality of opportunity in education.”
Longwood University is a four-year, state-operated educational institution. Today, it enrolls about 4,500 undergraduate students and more than 400 graduate students. Blacks make up approximately 8 percent of the undergraduate student body.
