Byrd, Harry Flood

Byrd, Harry Flood, 1887-1966, U.S. Senator from Virginia (1933-65), b. Martinsburg, W.Va.; brother of Richard E. Byrd. Educated at Shenandoah Academy in Winchester, Va., he became publisher of the Winchester Star and an important figure in state Democratic politics. His administration as governor (1926-30) was marked by the development of the state highway system. Appointed Senator in 1933, he was continually reelected until his retirement in 1965. He was a leading conservative Democrat and opposed the New Deal and later progressive measures. For many years he was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and he advocated government economy.

Harry Flood Byrd Middle School is a public middle school inHenrico County, Virginia. It is located at 9400 Quioccasin Road. It teaches grades six, seven, and eight.

General information

The school rivals of Byrd Middle School are George H. Moody Middle School, Tuckahoe Middle School, and Pocahontas Middle School. Byrd Middle has an athletic program which provides sports such as; football, wrestling, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, coed(boys and girls) gymnastics, baseball, softball, boys and girls track, and tennis. The clubs offered at Byrd for 7th and 8th grade are A Club, Drama, Forensics, Law Enforcement, Young Authors, Digital Media, Digital Graphics, French, Spanish, FCCLA, Sports for Teens, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Knowledge Master Open. There are no clubs offered for 6th grade.

Controversy

Some controversy has arisen in relation to the naming of the school. Harry Flood Byrd was a leader of the Virginia Massive Resistance movement after Brown v. Board of Education ordered the integration of schools in 1954. Massive resistance did great damage to racial relations in Virginia by singling out the black population and treating them as second class citizens. "For a period of five years, 1959-1964, public education was denied to more than 2,000 African-American children and a number of poor white children who, with only a few exceptions, remained unschooled." Some see the naming of a prominent middle school after a leader who kept so many students from receiving an education and who strongly supported keeping black students as second class citizens to be offensive.

Athletics

Byrd is one of the best schools in the county at soccer. In the 07-08 school year the Lady Senators soccer team went undefeated and there boys team only lost one game. Also the basketball team are very good, both Lady Senators and Boys were very successful.

References

External links

• Harry F. Byrd Middle School