The Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties was a political group dedicated to strict segregation in Virginia schools. In June 1955 it published its ''Plan for Virginia''. The words of Richard Crawford, president of the Defenders, are recognizable today as

dog-whistle politics In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs bu ...

. The Defenders advocated an amendment to the state constitution to allow the creation of state tuition vouchers and to withdraw state funding for integrated schools. A ballot measure on January 9, 1956, passed by a vote of 304,154 to 146,164. The organization was disbanded July 17, 1967.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Conservative political advocacy groups in the United States School segregation in the United States African-American history of Virginia History of racism in Virginia Far-right organizations in the United States