Virginia panel suggests replacing statue of Lee at Capitol with one of Barbara Johns

A Virginia state commission has voted overwhelmingly to recommend the state’s statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the U.S. Capitol’s Crypt be replaced with another honoring civil rights hero Barbara Rose Johns.

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Commission For Historical Statues In The United States Capitol voted to make the recommendation on Wednesday.   

{mosads}Johns had previously attended Moton High School in Prince Edward County during the 1950s when she organized a student demonstration protesting unfair conditions at local facilities at a time when schools were segregated. She had been just 16 years old. 

With their efforts, students at the time were able to gain backing from lawyers with the NAACP, leading to the court case Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County. That case made it to the Supreme Court and became one of the handful of cases decided upon as part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which led to the desegregation of schools in the country.

Johns was reportedly one of five finalists that were considered to replace Lee as one of the state’s two statues. The recommendation comes several months after the panel recommended the statue of Lee be replaced as a number of confederate symbols across the country were being removed from public spaces amid widespread protests against racial inequality following the police killing of George Floyd.

The recommendation by the body on Wednesday now awaits consideration from the Virginia General Assembly.

If green-lit by the Legislature, the statue of Johns will reportedly be one of a few statues honoring African American women expected to head to the Hall, which currently does not have any statues of African Americans.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam praised the recommendation on Wednesday in a statement, saying he is “proud” Johns “will soon represent Virginia in the U.S. Capitol.”

There, Northam said the icon’s “idealism, courage, and conviction will continue to inspire Virginians, and Americans, to confront inequities in our society and fight for meaningful change—now and for generations to come.”