June 13, 1963 - More than 100 Negro demonstrators were driven off the steps of City Hall in Danville, Va., tonight after a peaceful eight-hour wait to see Mayor Julian Stinson. Mayor Stinson returned from a conference in Richmond with Gov. Albertis Harrison this evening. Policemen and firemen immediately deployed three high-pressure fire hoses. Most of the Negroes, including children as young as 10, fled. The action marked a stiffening of the city’s policy toward Negro demonstrators. Mayor Stinson, asked if Gov. Harrison concurred in the action taken tonight, said, “Well, he did not oppose it.” Eight reporters were ordered not to leave the City Council chambers on the third floor of the City Hall while the fire hoses were being deployed. Fifteen minutes later, the newsmen left the building. This was a few minutes after the police had dispersed the Negroes on the steps outside. After a brief confrontation at the City Hall steps with Negro leaders, Mayor Stinson said: “I apologize for the double standard of allowing the n*****s — Negroes — to do as they please here while we have been controlling white people. We just won’t have that any more. From now on, we’re going to play by our rules.”
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