A statue honoring Civil Rights activist Barbara Rose Johns will be unveiled Tuesday on Capitol Hill, taking the spot upon which a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee once stood.
The statue will represent Virginia in the Capitol building, honoring Johns for famously taking a stand against racial segregation in education by organizing a student-led strike against the unequal conditions in her Farmville, Virginia, high school. Johns was 16 years old when she led the walk-out at Moton High School, and the statue will depict her as a teenager.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) will head to the Capitol for the unveiling at 3 p.m., according to his public schedule. Virginia’s members of Congress, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), will also be in attendance at the ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
“There is a line in the Book of Isaiah, ‘And a little child shall lead them,’ that reminds me of Barbara Rose Johns and the incredible bravery and leadership she displayed when she walked out of Moton High School in Farmville. I’m thrilled that millions of visitors to the U.S. Capitol, including many young people, will now walk by her statue and learn about her story. May she continue to inspire generations to stand up for equality and justice,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said in a statement.
A lawsuit resulting from Johns’s strike ultimately made its way to the Supreme Court as one of the five cases the court reviewed as part of its Brown v. Board of Education decision, cementing Johns as a key player in the overturning of segregation.
A statue of Lee formerly represented Virginia in the Capitol building before former Gov. Ralph Northam sought to remove it in June 2020. Before the end of the year, the statue was taken down.
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“The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion,” Northam said in December 2020 of the Lee statue. “I look forward to seeing a trailblazing young woman of color represent Virginia in the U.S. Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns’ contributions to America and be empowered to create positive change in their communities just like she did.”
On Tuesday, after five years of vacancy, the statue of Johns will be unveiled.