 During the post @-@ war Reconstruction era , Virginia adopted a constitution which provided for free public schools , and guaranteed political , civil , and voting rights . The populist Readjuster Party ran an inclusive coalition until the conservative white Democratic Party gained power after 1883 . It passed segregationist Jim Crow laws and in 1902 rewrote the Constitution of Virginia to include a poll tax and other voter registration measures that effectively disfranchised most African Americans and many poor whites . Though their schools and public services were segregated and underfunded due to a lack of political representation , African Americans were able to unite in communities and take a greater role in Virginia society . 
