Remembering Andrew Heidelberg

Remembering Andrew Heidelberg

Life was quite different in the year 1958,

Not a century since the end of the war.

‘Separate but equal’ had been law of the land,

The 1954 court declared its 1896 decision lore.

Suddenly change became rapid and real,

And certain states declined to accept.

The Old Dominion was one such commonwealth

Closing certain schools reacting to the ruling dealt.

Instead of us entering Norview High

As a freshman with the world’s promises ahead,

The governor shut down all those selected schools,

The start of that school year appeared dead.

Seven African American students

Assigned to the school,

Were thrust into political spotlight,

Though probably necessary, an awful and unwanted tool.

Andrew, the six, and all others near

Were denied their schooling rights that fall.

But the 1958 school year

Did not stop, but came to a crawl.

Pad locks and door blocks

On the school were fixed,

Because of a certain way of thinking,

That races could not mix.

Alternative schooling took root very fast,

Some churches acted quickly seen as their task.

The Feds and the Dominion worked on a solution,

And in February 1959 schools re-opened with no diminution.

It was rough new day for Andrew and the six,

Walking to school with some trepidation.

Their hearts beat fast

With anxiety, yet with hopeful anticipation.

Not all went smoothly

The four years of school,

But successful in the long,

Would prove the rule.

Andrew died just the other day,

After the Fourth of July

In the year 2015,

A grand old man with whom many identify.

Rest in Peace, Andrew.

 Class of 1962

Norview High School

Norfolk, Virginia

Charlottesville Television Report on Heidelberg death and legacy