Barbara Rose Johns Replaces Robert E. Lee in the US Capitol

By David J. Kent

Washington, DC

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed those enslaved in the areas still in rebellion against the United States. Lincoln then fought for passage of the 13th Amendment ending slavery forever. Despite these actions and the 14th and 15th Amendments that followed from them, basic civil rights for African Americans remained elusive. It would be actions taken nearly 100 years after Lincoln's efforts that finally codified equality.

After many years of waiting, the bronze statue of Barbara Rose Johns has replaced that of Robert E. Lee in the US Capitol. Johns' statue was unveiled in a ceremony held yesterday. Speaking at the event were a bipartisan array: House Speaker Mike Johnson, House ranking member Hakeem Jeffries, and from Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, US Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Bobby Scott, and the sister, brother, and daughter of Johns. Not speaking but also present were Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, Sen. Tim Kaine, many other Virginia representatives, and most importantly, over 200 members of the Johns family. Music was provided by the Eastern Senior High School Choir. You can watch the video of the ceremony here.

Johns was only 15 years old when in 1951 she led a walkout at her all-Black high school in Farmville, Virginia, to protest poor school and education conditions. The student-led movement she began eventually became a lawsuit that was combined with similar suits in the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision of the US Supreme Court. That decision reversed the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision of the Supreme Court that had established the "separate but equal" doctrine leading to Jim Crow laws and rampant state-mandated racial segregation for nearly sixty years. The Brown case determined what everyone already knew; that segregation was inherently unequal and a gross violation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Johns passed away in 1991, but she was represented at the ceremony by her sister, brother, daughter, and a huge contingent of extended family.

"It was her strength that and unwavering belief in equality and justice that helped change the entire nation for the better," said Rep. Scott. "So, it is hard to think of a better Virginian to represent the commonwealth in the United States Capitol."

The Johns bronze statue sculpted by Steven Weitzman is eight-feet tall and depicts her holding a book high above her head. While part of the Statuary Hall collection, the new statue is situated in the Emancipation Hall of the US Capitol Visitor Center (only a small number of the more than 100 statues can fit in the actual Statuary Hall). It replaces the statue of Robert E. Lee as Virginia's second representative in the collection (George Washington is the other Virginia representative). Lee's statue was removed from its spot in the Capitol crypt in late 2020.

On a personal note, the Lincoln Group has participated in a number of events in Statuary Hall, including being instrumental in the dedication of the old post office room (now the back of the House majority whip's office) as the Lincoln Room. That event is featured in my new book as I reminisce about Lincoln, Lewis Cass, and the removal of Confederate statues from the collection.

This past summer I came across another statue featuring Barbara Rose Johns, ironically near the few remaining Confederate statues still located on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. Johns is featured in a large statue grouping closest to the governor's Mansion, soon to be occupied by the first female governor of the commonwealth. Nearby is another group statue featuring the many women who fought for voting rights.

More information on the National Statuary Hall collection can be found here, including where each of the 100 statues are located in the Capitol complex.

Photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol website.