January 23, 2026
Images courtesy of Longwood University
On December 16, a statue of Barbara Johns was unveiled in Emancipation Hall at the United States Capitol, attended by several Hampden-Sydney representatives, including one who contributed to the project.
Hundreds gathered at the United States Capitol to honor civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns, whose 1951 student-led walkout at Moton High School—now the Robert Russa Moton Museum—in Farmville, Virginia, helped bring an end to school segregation in the United States. The walkout garnered support from the NAACP, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the students that eventually became part of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. Among those representing Hampden-Sydney at the unveiling were President Larry Stimpert, Ewing Professor of Religion and resident scholar at the Robert Russa Moton Museum Michael Utzinger, and Lecturer of Fine Arts Brian Grogan ’73, who supported the creation of the statue.
“I have been deeply engaged in the history of the civil rights era public school crisis in Prince Edward County since the late 1990s, as a public historian and documentary filmmaker,” Grogan says. “I have worked for many years with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission of the Virginia General Assembly on this history; contributed to the development of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, which was dedicated on Capitol Square in Richmond in 2008; and participated in planning meetings at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) for the development of the Barbara Johns statue.”
These meetings included VDHR officials, members of the Johns family, and sculptor Steven Weitzman. Grogan provided historical context on Johns’ leadership of the Moton High School strike and shared historical film footage of Barbara Johns to help inform Weitzman’s work on the statue, contributing to an accurate representation of the civil rights icon.
“On both a personal and professional level, it was profoundly moving to be a witness to the statue unveiling at the United States Capitol,” Grogan says. “With the dedication of this statue of Barbara Johns, both her heroic efforts and the history of the county are honored. It was a great pleasure to attend the program, along with President Stimpert and Dr. Utzinger, as a representative of Hampden-Sydney College.”
Grogan’s presence reflected decades of scholarly and public history work focused on Prince Edward County’s civil rights history, including his role as lead researcher and editor of A Little Child Shall Lead Them: A Documentary Account of the Struggle for School Desegregation in Prince Edward County, Virginia, a 2019 anthology documenting the history of the Prince Edward County public schools.
The anthology examines the struggle for educational equality in Prince Edward County through an analysis of court cases, government documents, speeches, personal writings, and journalism, providing a comprehensive historical context of the era. The anthology also includes a biographical chapter on Barbara Johns, along with a chapter featuring selections from her journal writings, offering readers a more personal perspective on the young activist, whose leadership helped shape one of the most important civil rights cases in American history.
“It is a notable moment to have contributed to this history with this book,” Grogan says. “I am now beginning to accession all of my research and approximately 100 hours of video footage of interviews and historic events to the Special Collections at Bortz Library. The College has recently received a grant from Virginia Humanities to begin building a digital platform to present this work.
“It is valuable to recall that in the fall of 1999, Hampden-Sydney College held a symposium titled ‘Prince Edward Stories.’ Under the guidance of then-President Samuel Wilson, the weeklong symposium was the first public, institutional recognition of the long struggle by the African American community for equal educational opportunity. It recognized and gave voice to the families and children denied an education during the many years of public school closings. It was an early step among many on the road to Barbara Johns, her fellow students, and the African American community of Prince Edward County being recognized and honored in the United States Capitol.”
As members of the community continue to share the impact of Barbara Johns’ life and work, her fight for justice endures, standing as a lasting example of leadership, courage, and the enduring importance of equality in all its forms.
For those who wish to read this anthology, a copy is available at the Bortz Library. Additionally, it can be accessed on the University of Virginia Press website.