In light of contemporary school choice proposals and the 60th anniversary of the Southern Manifesto, the Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools crisis provides interesting historical discussion. Prince Edward County (PEC), a rural community in central Virginia, was one of five school districts represented in the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court" decision that ruled segregated public schools unconstitutional. In response to this decision, PEC closed public schools from 1959-1964 rather than desegregate them. Three other Virginia locales closed public schools to resist the desegregation mandate of "Brown"--Warren County, Charlottesville, and Norfolk--but none for as long as PEC. Like the 19 Senators and 82 Representatives from each of the former Confederate states who signed the Declaration of Constitutional Principles or "Southern Manifesto" and understood the "Brown" ruling as a violation of state's rights, Virginia lawmakers also vowed "…to use all lawful means to bring about a reversal of this decision ["Brown"] which is contrary to the Constitution and to prevent the use of force in its implementation."