Mayor Donnie Tuck, City Of Hampton | City Of Hampton website
Mayor Donnie Tuck, City Of Hampton | City Of Hampton website
The city commemorated the efforts of three nurses who challenged segregation at a Hampton hospital in 1963 by dedicating a Heritage marker on Saturday morning. The nurses, known as The Dixie Three—Mildred Smith, Patricia Taylor, and Agnes Stokes—made headlines when they decided to eat lunch in the hospital cafeteria designated for "whites only," instead of using the small room allocated for African-American staff members.
Their act of protest aligned with similar movements across the South during that period and led to a legal battle that was eventually resolved in their favor. Although Mildred Smith passed away in 2013, her colleagues, now Patricia McKenzie and Agnes Chrisman, were present at the ceremony held at the site of the former hospital, which is now Hunter B. Andrews PreK-8 School located at 3120 Victoria Blvd.
Mayor Jimmy Gray spoke at the event, stating: “Often history is made quietly, gradually, by ordinary men and women whose names are not known beyond their hometowns. … These three ladies made a profound statement with the simple act of sitting down to eat.”
In recognition of their contributions and as part of Black History Month celebrations, a locally produced documentary about The Dixie Three will be shown on February 22 at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk.
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