Provides a nonfiction account of what happened in Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1954 after the Supreme Court ruled segregation was illegal in the "Brown v. Board of Education" case. Determined to keep their schools segregated, the school board voted to close the public schools and the affluent White members of the population built a private school that admitted only Whites. Recounts how during the five years the public schools were closed, Black children and their families homeschooled, left the state to live with relatives so they could attend school, or didn't go to school at all. Some of the children took up activism fighting for their right to learn and equal treatment under the law.

Unequal -- Hard history -- Strike -- Going bigger -- Massive resistance -- Shattered dreams -- Scrambling -- A national scandal -- Turning point -- The free schools -- Up and running -- Damaged victory -- Facing the past -- Unfinished business.