New Virginia Historical Marker Erected in Farmville Through the Efforts of 4th Graders at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Fairfax County.
Children in a 4th grade class in Fairfax County Virginia recently helped to change how history is told through Virginia Historical Markers that people see as they travel throughout the state. In 1951 sixteen year old Barbara Johns led a student strike at the segregated Robert Moton High School in Farmville, VA. Eventually that strike changed from a protest for a better segregated facility to the basis for a legal case challenging segregation in public education. It was one of the five cases included in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 that made segregation in public education unconstitutional. Barbara Johns has rightfully been honored in a variety of ways ranging from a statue as part of the Civil Rights Memorial on the grounds of the state capital in Richmond, to an office building in Richmond named in her honor, to a recent decision to take the place of Robert E. Lee as one of two statues representing Virginia in Statuary Hall in the rotunda of the Capitol building in Washington, DC. However, her historic contribution was not included in Virginia Historical Markers until this February. The February 24 edition of the Washington Post has an article (click here) that tells the story of how one teacher’s annual historical marker scavenger hunt led to the marker honoring Barbara Johns. The students had learned about the student strike of 1951 and its connection to the historic Brown v. Board decision. When the students realized that there was no Virginia Historical Marker honoring Barbara Johns, they entered a “Black History Historical Marker Contest” in 2020. Their submission was one of 20 winners including 10 submitted by children. The new historical marker is on the site of the former Robert Moton High School which is now a museum. From 1951 to 2021, from a student strike in Virginia to Black Lives Matter protests throughout the nation, young people continue to lead the way in advocating for changes for greater levels of justice for all.