Barbara Johns statue unveiled at U.S. Capitol

By Matthew McWilliams

In The Farmville Herald

Dignitaries from across the country joined together in the U.S. Capitol to honor the heroic actions of Barbara Rose Johns and to install a bronze sculpture in the Capitol Statuary Hall Collection of the teenager who led a historic student strike in 1951 in protest of segregated school conditions.

Visitors — including more than 200 members of the Johns family — packed into Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol Tuesday for the statue’s unveiling and dedication. Speakers included: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson; the Rev. L. Francis “Skip” Griffin; Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; Terry Harrison, daughter of Barbara Johns; Joan Johns Cobbs, sister of Barbara Johns; Robert Johns, brother of Barbara Johns; Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin; Rep. Bobby Scott and Sen. Mark Warner.

The ceremony was energetic and soaring as speakers reminded the audience of the power of one person to change the course of American history, and the legacy of the Moton strike in ending segregation in American schools. Music provided by the Eastern Senior High School Choir added the pageantry of the dedication.

House Speaker Johnson, R-LA, opened the dedication and unveiling.“Barbara’s now famous walkout from her school in Farmville, Virginia, symbolizes something profoundly American: the power of the individual,” Johnson said. “In Barbara, a farmer’s daughter from humble means, we see an ordinary citizen who challenged the injustices of her day, whose actions drew this nation a little closer to her founding ideals.”

House Minority Leader Jeffries, D-NY, expressed pride in the fact that Johns was born in New York, but moved with her family as a young child to Prince Edward County.

“The school walkout that Barbara led on April 23, 1951, sparked the school desegregation movement that ultimately culminated in the landmark Brown v. Board decision,” Jeffries said. “Of the five cases that made it up to the Supreme Court, the Virginia case was the only one that emerged from a student-led movement. That’s Black history. That’s American history.”

He said it’s appropriate and important to elevate transformational trailblazers like Barbara Rose Johns.

“A story as powerful, a story as moving, and with this honor, a story that will never be erased. This statue of her will now stand in the Capitol, joining Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and other iconic heroes, depicting her call to action as a reminder of the progress that we have made in this great country, and the work, of course, we must continue to do.”

Johns’ daughter, Terry Harrison, shared some about her mother.

“We knew her as Barbara Powell: minister’s wife, mother, librarian. But the core of who she was as a 16-year-old remained, Harrison said. “She put God first in her life. She was brave, bold, determined, strong, wise, unselfish, warm and loving.”

She told the crowd gathered at the Capitol that her mother led by example, inspired, motivated, guided, encouraged and championed family, friends and strangers.

“We are truly grateful that this magnificent monument to her story, the sacrifices that her family and her community made, may continue to inspire and teach others that no matter what, you too can reach for the moon,” Harrison said.

Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobbs, quoted from a diary entry that her sister, Barbara, left after she died, where she reflected on the strike.

“There were times where I prayed: God please grant us a new school. Please let us have a warm place to study where we don’t have to keep our coats on all day to stay warm. God please help us, we are your children too,” Cobbs said as she read from the diary.

L. Francis “Skip” Griffin Jr., son of the Johns’ family pastor in the 1950s. the Rev. Francis Griffin, delivered the invocation at the ceremony.

“We place a statue appropriately here today where [Barbara] will be among other pioneering Americans…let us be reminded of the deeply prophetic that moved in Barbara’s soul that inspired her at the age of 16 to lead fellow Moton students to take one giant step to move this nation toward a more perfect union,” Griffin said.

Members of Virginia’s Congressional delegation attended the dedication, with Sen. Warner, D-VA, and Rep. Scott, D-VA, delivering remarks honoring Johns.

“Her courage forced this country to reckon with its conscience on a scale much larger than she ever could have imagined,” Warner said. “I’m proud to unveil Barbara Johns’ statue in the U.S. Capitol where she will represent the Commonwealth of Virginia and be recognized for the vital role she played in ending school segregation.”

Scott said that at the age of 16, Barbara Johns’ refused to accept inequality in our public schools.

“Her determination led to the lawsuit Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, which ultimately became part of the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,” Scott said. “Her strength and unwavering belief in equality and justice helped change the entire nation for the better. It is hard to think of a better example of a Virginian to represent the Commonwealth in the United States Capitol,” said Rep. Bobby Scott.

Under federal law, each state is represented by two statues in National Statuary Hall, selected by the state to honor notable individuals from its history. The Johns statue was recommended by Virginia’s Commission for Historical Statues to replace Virginia’s statue of Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol.

Warner and Scott were both cosponsors of the Confederate Monument Removal Act, legislation to remove statues of individuals who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from display in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Warner has spoken publicly about the need to remove public symbols honoring the Confederacy as part of broader efforts to advance racial justice.

As governor, Warner helped establish a commission to build a monument on Capitol Square honoring Johns, after his youngest daughter asked why the grounds did not include more diverse representation of famous Virginians.

Current Gov. Youngkin told the audience that one can’t tell the story of how the nation struggled against, and then overcame, segregation without telling the story of the Moton school strike, organized and led by Johns.

“It’s fitting that we gather today in Emancipation Hall to dedicate a statue and to tell the story of someone whose courage changed the course of American history, whose life sparked the beginning of a new birth of freedom for so many of our fellow citizens,” Youngkin said.

Throughout this Capitol in the crypt where her statue will stand, he said there are men and women remembered in bronze and in marble who when we see them we are reminded of their courage, their achievement, the importance of that life.

“And the lessons from the lives and legacies of American heroes like Barbara Johns are never confined to the past,” Youngkin said. “They continue to inspire us every moment of the present day, and it is critically important that we bring them forward into the future.”

The governor concluded by noting that Johns’ actions led way to change that benefited everyone.

“Barbara Johns’ courage and example was all in service. Service of a noble mission to ensure that all Americans would receive an excellent education,” Youngkin said. “This statue is a fitting memorial and tribute to a teenager in Virginia who became an American hero. A hero whose courage inspired a nation to overcome injustice and to more fully realize our founding promise as a nation. And now this fitting memorial has a fitting home.”

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