Local Johns family on hand for momentous tribute to family member
by Deborah Johns Moir
The Congressional Statue Dedication Ceremony in honor of Barbara Rose Johns of Virginia was recently held in the Emancipation Hall of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was an amazing time full of emotion acknowledging Virginia’s painful history, inspirational singing, political representation, and Paparazzi-style photos taken beneath the statue after the ceremony, and before the reception.
A highlight came from remarks made by the Democratic Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Hakeem S. Jeffries, who called Barbara Rose Johns, “A true American Hero. The Commonwealth of Virgina will now be properly represented by an actual patriot who embodied the principle of liberty and justice for all, and not a traitor who took up arms against the United States to preserve the brutal institution of Chattel Slavery.” Jeffries also stated that the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which Johns’ statue replaces, was erected in 1909 and taken down in 2020, and belonged in a museum, not the Capitol Building. The other statue representing Virginia in the Capitol Building is that of George Washington.
– Photo courtesy Johns family
Several hundred attended, including 200 Johns family members. Those there included brothers of Barbara: Ernest, Robert, and Roderick Johns, and sister Joan Johns Cobb and their immediate family members. Barbara’s daughter Terry Harrison (along with Robert and Joan) spoke. Other remarks were made by outgoing Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin, Virginia U.S. Representative Bobby Scott, and Virginia U.S. Senator (and former Virginia Governor) Mark R. Warner. The welcome and later remarks came from the 119th current Congress Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson. Some politicians attending but who did not speak included former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Georgia U.S. Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock, Virginia U.S. Senator (and former Virginia Governor) Tim Kaine, former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, and incoming Virginia Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Others there included: U.S. Senator from Maryland Angela Alsobrooks, U.S. Representative of Virginia Jennifer McClellan, and Attorney General-Elect of Virginia Jerrauld “Jay” Jones.
Outstanding singing came from the Eastern Senior High School Choir of the District of Columbia, led by Tedrick Bonds (Master of Education). Thoughtful prayer came from L. Francis “Skip” Griffin, who is the son of the late Civil Rights Leader, Rev. L. Francis Griffin.
Johns was chosen by a Virginia Delegation because, as a 16 -year-old Junior at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, she led a school walkout of over 450 students on April 23, 1951. They were protesting the poor learning conditions which in turn, helped to spark the school desegregation movement. Richmond lawyers Spottswood Robinson III and Oliver W. Hill, Sr. took up her protest. They, along with Thurgood Marshall (later named a Supreme Court Justice) and the NAACP, handled the case known as “Davis vs. County School Board of Prince Edward County” which was rolled into four other cases. The result was the 1954 landmark decision from the U.S. Supreme Court which made it unconstitutional to segregate in public education. For years, that part of Virginia chose to close down public schools rather than complying. For her safety, Barbara Rose Johns graduated high school while living in the home of her uncle, Civil Rights leader, Rev. Vernon Johns, in Montgomery, Alabama. Rev. Johns’ daughter, Jeanne Johns Adkins attended the statue dedication.
Other family members attending the unveiling ceremony included siblings Deborah Johns Moir, Lawrence “Lonnie” Johns, and Anthony “Tony” Johns, all born in Roanoke. Other Roanokers attending included E.B. Smith, director of The Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Roanoke, Roanoke City Manager Valmarie H. Turner, and Mac McCadden. .
Barbara Johns went on to graduate from Spellman College and Drexel University and raise five children with her husband Rev. William H.R. Powell, Jr. They lived in Philadelphia, and she became a school librarian and lived a quiet life. On September 25, 1991, she died of bone cancer. On the land that housed the school she fought for, now houses the Robert Russa Moton Museum (since 2001), and there is a Virginia Civil Rights Memorial (2008) in Richmond which depicts Johns and other Moton students I Richmond’s Capitol Square. Further, the Virginia Commonwealth Attorney’s offices was renamed for Barbara Johns in 2017.
– Photo courtesy Johns family
