Capitol installs Barbara Johns statue, replaces Lee
The U.S. Capitol will unveil and display Virginia’s new statue of civil‑rights figure Barbara Rose Johns on Tuesday in Emancipation Hall, replacing the Robert E. Lee statue removed in 2020. The ceremony will include Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia’s delegation; the piece by sculptor Steven Weitzman was approved in July by the Architect of the Capitol and the Joint Committee on the Library.
📌 Key Facts
- Unveiling takes place Dec. 16, 2025 in Emancipation Hall with congressional and state leaders attending.
- Johns led a 1951 student strike in Farmville, Va., that fed into Brown v. Board of Education.
- Lee’s statue was removed from the Capitol in Dec. 2020; Johns’ statue received final federal approvals in July 2025.
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
"The piece uses the recent replacement of the Robert E. Lee statue with Barbara Johns as a jumping‑off point to argue that while monuments shape civic narratives and can help heal, symbolic changes alone rarely reduce political violence unless paired with inclusive processes and substantive policy measures."