Statue of civil rights pioneer Barbara Johns to interchange Confederacy’s Lee in U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A statue of black civil rights activist Barbara Johns, who played a key role in desegregating the public school system, will be erected in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Monday to replace one of the leaders of the U.S. Pro-Slavery Confederation .

Johns was 16 years old when she directed classmates at her Black Virginia high school in protest of poor conditions. This led to a lawsuit that was settled in the 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision of the United States Supreme Court ruling that segregation was illegal.

The statue provided by Virginia will replace one of General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate States Army and the Army of Northern Virginia during the U.S. Civil War.

“Congress will continue our work to rid the Capitol of tributes to hatred as we struggle to end the scourge of racism in our country,” House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi said in a statement. “There is no room to celebrate Confederacy bigotry in the Capitol or any other place of honor in our country.”

Virginia representative Donald McEachin said on Twitter, “I’m excited to see a statue of Barbara Johns whose bravery changed our nation and who will soon be representing the VA here.”

In the United States, pressure has increased to remove flags, statues, street signs, and other Confederate memorials to Confederate military and political leaders.

A sweeping Defense Approval Bill recently passed by Congress would remove the names of Confederate generals from US military bases. President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the legislation, in part because of this provision.

George Floyd’s death in custody last May in Minneapolis police custody sparked demonstrations in the United States and around the world as protesters called for police reforms, particularly in the treatment of black Americans by law enforcement.

In June, a statue of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, was overthrown on Monument Avenue in Richmond, which served as the Confederation’s capital.

Reporting by Scott Malone and Richard Cowan; Adaptation by Dan Grebler and Mark Potter