The 1963 civil rights campaign in Danville, Virginia, known for mass arrests and police violence was the Danville Movement.
Activists in Danville organized demonstrations against segregation in downtown businesses, restaurants, and public facilities. The campaign intensified in May and June 1963, when protesters used marches and sit-ins to challenge the city’s racial system. Police responded with arrests and violence, including the use of fire hoses and clubs.
The movement formed part of the wider wave of demonstrations that year, including campaigns in Birmingham and elsewhere. Danville’s officials and segregationists attempted to portray protesters as outside agitators, but local Black residents had long faced discriminatory treatment and unequal public services.
Danville is sometimes overlooked because the Birmingham Campaign received far more national coverage. The Danville Movement nevertheless helped expose the persistence of segregation in smaller Southern cities and contributed to the pressure that produced federal civil rights legislation.