This is the woman whose statue will replace that of Robert E Lee in the US Capitol 1075thegame.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from 1075thegame.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Commission on Historical Statues in the United States Capitol has recommended that civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns represent Virginia in the National Statuary Hall Collection, replacing the existing statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
Gov. Ralph Northam has also announced that his proposed budget includes dearly $500,000 to replace the statue.
“On April 23, 1951, sixteen-year-old Barbara Rose Johns led a student walkout at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, protesting the overcrowded and inferior conditions of the all-Black school compared to those of White students at nearby Farmville High School,” a release said.
Her actions got the support of NAACP lawyers Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill, who took up her case and filed a lawsuit that would later be one fo five cases the United States Supreme Court reviewed in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka when it declared segregation unconstitutional.
Photo Courtesy of Jack Mayer, Office of Governor Northam.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Virginia’s statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee was removed from the United States Capitol overnight. A representative from the governor’s office was present for the removal along with United States Senator Tim Kaine and Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton.
Each state is entitled to display two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, and for 111 years, the Confederate statue has stood along with America’s first president George Washington as Virginia’s contributions. The two statues were added in 1909, which was 44 years after the Confederacy rebelled against the United States and was defeated. The Lee statue had been one among 13 located in the Crypt of the Capitol, representing the 13 original colonies.
Editorial: Right choice: Barbara Rose Johns deserves to stand in the U S Capitol richmond.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from richmond.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.