Seventh graders at Page Middle School visited First Morning Star Baptist Church in Bena Friday to learn about Irene Morgan, a Black woman who became a civil rights pioneer one summer day in 1944 on a bus traveling from Hayes back to Baltimore.

Morgan was arrested in Middlesex County after refusing to give up her seat for a white person. Her case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that Virginia’s law enforcing segregation on interstate buses was unconstitutional.

“History is not always pleasant,” said the Rev. Ward Warren, pastor of First Morning Star Baptist, to the assembled seventh grade students. “It’s not always pretty.

“We must show compassion to others,” urged Warren.

“How would you feel,” Warren asked the students. He encouraged them to think about how they would feel if somebody told them to move from their spot on the bus after paying their fare. He told the students about how Jim Crow laws gave preferential treatment to white people in Virginia during that time.

“She refused to do what the driver said and what the officer said,” he said.

The Virginia Supreme Court ruled against Morgan, but she won her case at the U.S. Supreme Court in 1946.
“Human dignity was restored,” said Warren about the high court’s ruling.

Warren then discussed the civil rights movement and the freedom riots with the students.

“They were met with violence,” he said about the people at the riots. “They were met with beatings. They were met with jail time.”

Warren then talked about issues currently facing Black people in the U.S., particularly with voting. He told the students that some states have changed how early people can vote, have moved drop boxes and have cancelled Sunday voting. He also told the seventh graders that some places have made it illegal to give a bottle of water to someone standing in line to vote.

“Our vote is our voice,” said Warren.

“History is taking one step forward and being knocked two steps back,” he said.

Warren reminded the students in attendance that they are the future leaders and need to understand history.

In addition to the historic court case, Warren reflected on Morgan’s life. Every Thanksgiving, Morgan would open her home to the homeless for a meal and would also wash their clothes.

“That’s humanity,” said Warren. “We have to learn how to lift each other up.”

Even though Morgan had to quit school at the age of 10, she went on to earn her bachelor’s degree when she was 68 years old and a master’s degree in Urban Studies five years later.

“It is never too late to broaden your mind,” he said.

Warren encouraged the students to be wary of disinformation and go to their parents and teachers to guide them the right way. He also encouraged them to learn history.

In closing, Warren said that three graduating Gloucester High School seniors will receive a scholarship in Morgan’s name, beginning this year.