Farmville in Prince Edward County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Barbara Rose Johns

(1935 - 1991)

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 22, 2021

1. Barbara Rose Johns Marker

Inscription. Barbara Johns, civil rights pioneer, was born in New York and moved to her parents' native Prince Edward County as a child. In April 1951, at age 16, she led a student walkout to protest conditions at the segregated Robert Russa Moton High School, where facilities were vastly inferior to those at the county's white high school. The students, demanding a new school, sought aid from the Virginia NAACP, which insisted offered to represent them in a lawsuit seeking an end to segregation. Davis v. Prince Edward was the only student initiated case consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school segregation was unconstitutional.

Erected 2020 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number M-39.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Women. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1951.

Location. 37° 17.473′ N, 78° 23.87′ W. Marker is in Farmville, Virginia, in

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Prince Edward County. It is on Griffin Boulevard 0.1 miles north of South Main Street (Business U.S. 15), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 900 Griffin Blvd, Farmville VA 23901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Virginia’s Piedmont,

in Southside Virginia,

and specifically in Central Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Oliver White Hill Sr. (within shouting distance of this marker); 1951 Student Walk-Out (within shouting distance of this marker); R.R. Moton High School (within shouting distance of this marker); Robert Russa Moton High School (within shouting distance of this marker); Robert Russa Moton High School Timeline

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), April 22, 2021

2. Barbara Rose Johns Marker

(within shouting distance of this marker); Martha E. Forrester (approx. 0.4 miles away); Longwood College (approx. 0.4 miles away); a different marker also named First Baptist Church (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Farmville.

Other markers no longer nearby. R. R. Moton High School (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Longwood University (was approx. half a mile away but has been confirmed missing); Farmville Female Seminary Association (was approx. 0.7 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); First Baptist Church (was approx. 0.7 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Credits. This page was last revised on April 25, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 25, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 1,180 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 25, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.