Garrett Introduces Legislation to Honor Barbara Rose Johns With Congressional Gold Medal

Press Release

Congressman Tom Garrett today introduced the Barbara Johns Congressional Gold Medal Act to honor Civil Right Movement pioneer Barbara Rose Johns. Her actions made the American Dream of prosperity possible for all. On April 23, 1951, at 16 years old, she led a student strike for equal education facilities at Robert Russa Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. Following the student strike, Johns gained legal support from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who filed Davis v. Prince Edward County, which made her case the largest and only student-initiated one that was consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 United States Supreme Court decision declaring segregation and the "separate but equal" principle unconstitutional:

"In the Preamble to the Constitution, the Founders suggested forming a more perfect union. The word more implied that there was work yet to be done. Barbara Johns was a hero in helping take one of a series of steps towards that more perfect union. Her courage in the face of all odds is even more impressive because of her age when she led the student walkout in Prince Edward County. Celebrating this courage not only shines a light on an American hero, it also should serve as an example that one person with courage and vision can change the world. As the leader of the only student initiated case included in Brown versus Board of Education, this recognition of Barbara Rose Johns is long overdue. Johns isn't a hero of black history, she is a hero of American history," said Garrett.

About the Congressional Gold Medal: For more than two centuries, Congress has expressed public gratitude on behalf of the nation for distinguished contributions through the occasional commissioning of individual struck gold medals in its name.

This award, which initially was bestowed on military leaders, has also been given to such diverse individuals as Sir Winston Churchill and Bob Hope, George Washington and Robert Frost, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa, and other Nobel Peace Laureates, such as Elie Wiesel and Nelson Mandela. Most recently, Congress awarded the Gold Medal to former U.S Senator Bob Dole of Kansas.

Under the rules, Congressional Gold Medals require the support of at least two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives before they can be signed into law by the president.

Background on Barbara Johns: Barbara Rose Johns was born in New York City, New York, on March 6, 1935, and moved to Prince Edward County, Virginia. On April 23, 1951, at the age of 16, Ms. Johns led a student strike for equal education at R.R. Moton High School in Prince Edward, Virginia.

After securing legal support from the NAACP, Moton students filed suit in Davis vs. Prince Edward County. This is the largest and only student-initiated case consolidated into Brown vs. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 United States Supreme Court decision declaring segregation and the "separate but equal" principle in public schools to be unconstitutional.

After her heroic lead in the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Johns furthered her education at Spelman College and Drexel University. She continued her desire for knowledge by eventually becoming a school librarian. Ms. Johns went on to marry Rev. William Powell and had five children. She passed away on September 25, 1991, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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