While Trump may be in the White House, the progressive push to replace all references to important American figures is still in full force.
The Washington Examiner reported that on Tuesday, a statue of Civil Rights activist Barbara Rose Johns will be unveiled, filling the space once occupied by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as Virginia’s representation in the U.S. Capitol.
At just 16, Johns led a student strike at Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, to protest the stark inequalities of segregated schools. That strike triggered a lawsuit that contributed to the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling, which ended school segregation.
Now, her statue, capturing her as the determined teen she was, will stand tall as a tribute to her fight against systemic injustice.
Contrast that with the old statue of Lee, linked to a cause that defended slavery, which stood in the Capitol until it was taken down by the end of 2020.
The push to remove Lee’s statue came under former Gov. Ralph Northam, who argued it was time to shed reminders of a painful, fractured past.
“The Confederacy is a symbol of Virginia’s racist and divisive history, and it is past time we tell our story with images of perseverance, diversity, and inclusion,” Northam declared in December 2020.
Fair point, Gov. Northam, but let’s not pretend swapping statues rewrites the past—Lee’s role shaped America too, and this move can feel like a slick nod to modern sensibilities over honest reflection.
For five years, Virginia’s Capitol spot sat empty, a quiet void waiting for a new story to take hold.
That wait ends Tuesday at 3 p.m. with Johns’s statue unveiling, drawing big names like Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s congressional delegation, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, per the Associated Press.
Sen. Tim Kaine reflected, “There is a line in the Book of Isaiah, ‘And a little child shall lead them,’ that reminds me of Barbara Rose Johns and the incredible bravery and leadership she displayed when she walked out of Moton High School in Farmville.”
Kaine continued, “I’m thrilled that millions of visitors to the U.S. Capitol, including many young people, will now walk by her statue and learn about her story. May she continue to inspire generations to stand up for equality and justice.”
Nice sentiment, Senator, but let’s get real—statues don’t teach history; classrooms and candid conversations do, and this change risks being more of a polished photo-op than a true cultural reckoning.
Johns’s courage undeniably merits honor for reshaping education, but the lingering question remains: does trading one statue for another mend old wounds, or simply redraw the lines of today’s cultural debates?
