A champion of school integration lacked a plaque until kids spoke up
Hannah Natanson, The Washington Post
Feb. 24, 2021
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A historical marker honors Barbara Johns in Farmville, Va.Photo by Cameron Patterson
For years, Maura Keaney has sent fourth-graders on a scavenger hunt into the past, asking students to traverse Virginia with their families in search of historical markers.
They get one point for finding a marker, 10 points for writing a summary of it and an extra 10 points if they snag a selfie with one. The markers, erected by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, commemorate notable people or places in state history.
Joi Bass reported this story
On April 23, 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Johns organized a student walk out at Robert Russa Moton High School. The walk out would form part of the foundation of Brown v. Board of Education, a landmark Supreme Court decision that paved the way for school desegregation.
Joan Johns Cobbs, her sister, says she was as surprised as everyone else the day of the walk out.
“When she came to school and came to the auditorium, got on the stage and asked us to go out on a strike for a better school, just like everybody else in there, I was completely in the dark,” Johns Cobbs said.
Virginia Senate backs U S Capitol statue for Barbara Johns roanoke.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from roanoke.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Listen • 5:32
A statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol on Sunday. We talk to Moton Museum director
Cameron Patterson about the figure replacing him, Barbara Johns, who led a student strike in 1951 that became part of the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
National Statuary Hall: Down With Robert E Lee And Up With Barbara Johns (Who?) | Articles vdare.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vdare.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.