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 Pennycuffsaid 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.”

"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 said. “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.

The school board ultimately voted to name the new school Ashland Elementary, but later named its central office building after Gandy.

The board decided last June to install the memorial plaques and partnered with the Hanover NAACP to plan the ceremonies, which occurred as the interpretation of American history is changing.

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 said. “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 said. ”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 said, 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.”