Statue of civil rights pioneer Barbara Johns replaces Lee at US Capitol | Washington DC

A statue of civil rights activist Barbara Johns, who played a key role in desegregating the public school system, will be erected in the U.S. Capitol on Monday to replace one of Robert E Lee, a leader in the pro slavery confederation.

Johns was 16 years old when she led classmates at her all-black high school in Virginia in protest of inferior conditions. This led to a lawsuit that was settled in Brown v. The US Supreme Court’s 1954 Board of Education ruling declaring segregation illegal. The statue provided by Virginia will replace one of Lee, a Confederate general during the Civil War who owned slaves himself.

“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 look forward to seeing a statue of Barbara Johns whose bravery changed our nation and which Virginia is about to represent here.”

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday morning. The Democrat Northam requested removal. A state commission decided Lee was not an appropriate symbol for Virginia and recommended a statue of Johns.

Lee’s statue had stood in the Capitol room since 1909 with one of George Washington representing Virginia. Each state gets two statues.

Washington commanded the American armed forces in the Revolutionary War and became the first president. Like other Virginia founders and presidents, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe, he owned enslaved people.

John Adams of Massachusetts, the second president, did not. It is not in the National Statuary Hall collection.

Confederate memorials have become a national focus again since the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck in May this year. Protesters exposing racism were directed against Confederate monuments in several cities, and some were overturned.

“The Confederation is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is time we told our story with images of perseverance, diversity and inclusion,” said Northam.

“I look forward to seeing a pioneering young woman in color representing Virginia at the US Capitol, where visitors will learn about Barbara Johns’ contributions to America and how they will be empowered to create positive change in their communities.”

The presence of statues of generals and other Confederate figures in locations of the Capitol such as the Statuary Hall, the original chamber of the house, has been offensive to African American lawmakers for many years. Former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., a Democrat from Illinois, was known for giving tours pointing out the numerous statues.

However, it is up to states to determine which of their historical figures to display. Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. Senator from Mississippi who was President of the Confederation, is still represented. So did the Vice President of the Confederate, Alexander Stephens, from Georgia.

A statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president to enslave people, represents Tennessee.