Greene County Democrat

Author: greenecodemocratcom

  • Newswire: New data shows utility costs rising across nearly every state

    Rising utility rates

    Average household electricity bills in 2025 are running 9.6 percent higher than in 2024, rising faster than wages and overall inflation. 

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Americans across nearly every region of the country are paying more to keep the lights on and the heat running, according to a new nationwide analysis that shows electric and natural gas rate increases spreading deeper into households from coast to coast.
    “There are several reasons why utilities are raising rates so rapidly, including the need to modernize the aging electric grid, which has been burdened by extreme weather events made more frequent and costly due to climate change and growing energy demand due to artificial intelligence data centers,” Center for American Progress (CAP) researchers declared. “At the same time, higher natural gas costs and a policy assault on new clean energy generation from the Trump administration are driving energy costs even higher.”

    An updated utility rate tracker released by the CAP in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council shows that roughly two out of every three electric customers and more than six in ten natural gas customers are now facing higher bills. The increases affect more than 108 million electricity customers and nearly 49 million natural gas customers across 49 states and Washington, D.C., with total added costs approaching $85.8 billion by 2028.

    Federal data shows that the financial pressure is already being felt. Average household electricity bills in 2025 are running 9.6 percent higher than in 2024, rising faster than wages and overall inflation. The analysis identifies at least 222 electric and natural gas utilities that have already implemented rate hikes, received approval for increases, or are seeking new increases through 2027.
    The impact varies sharply by state. In Missouri, some households are seeing monthly electricity increases exceeding $45, while parts of Massachusetts and Arkansas face projected increases of more than $30 a month. In Texas, customers served by multiple utilities are absorbing monthly increases ranging from single digits to more than $20, depending on provider and region. Florida electric customers in some service areas are seeing increases above $30 per month, while households in Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio are facing steady upward adjustments tied to both electric and natural gas service.
    The report points to several drivers behind the rising costs. Utilities across the country are investing billions to upgrade aging infrastructure, much of it stressed by extreme weather and rising demand. At the same time, growing electricity consumption from artificial intelligence data centers is placing additional strain on regional grids. The analysis also links higher costs to federal policy decisions that have slowed the expansion of new clean energy generation, limiting supply options and increasing long-term system expenses.
    Natural gas customers are experiencing parallel pressures. Higher fuel costs and infrastructure spending are pushing bills upward in states such as Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and Maryland, where monthly gas increases now exceed $10 in some service territories. The report warns that winter heating demands combined with higher rates increase the risk of missed payments and service shutoffs, particularly for low-income households.
    The tracker is based on filings with state public utility commissions, utility company disclosures, and federal energy data. Researchers note that the list is not exhaustive and will continue to grow as additional rate cases move through regulatory approval.
    The latest analysis shows that rate increases already approved or proposed will raise electricity customer bills by $67.7 billion and natural gas customer bills by $18.1 billion nationwide by the end of the decade, affecting households in nearly every state.

     

  • Newswire : Supreme Court blocks Trump from deploying National Guard in Chicago

    National Guard deployed in Washington, D. C.

    By Joe Jurado, NewsOne

    In a surprising turn, the Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago. 
    According to The New York Times, the unsigned ruling cited an 1878 law that bans the use of the military for domestic policing as the reason they refused to grant Trump broad authority to deploy the military on American soil. 
    The court found that the Trump administration didn’t successfully argue that the statute “permits the president to federalize the Guard in the exercise of inherent authority to protect federal personnel and property in Illinois.” The Supreme Court has sided chiefly with Trump in his unprecedented efforts to expand the scope of presidential power. 
    The preliminary injunction was issued in a 6-3 ruling, with justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., and Neil M. Gorsuch dissenting. In a lengthy dissent, Justice Alito wrote that “the protection of federal officers from potentially lethal attacks should not be thwarted.” 
    Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, cosigned with Alito’s dissent, saying in a statement, “He activated the National Guard to protect federal law enforcement officers and to ensure rioters did not destroy federal buildings and property. Nothing in today’s ruling detracts from that core agenda.” 
    You know, I’m pretty sure federal law enforcement has been regularly doing its job without the assistance of the National Guard for at least the 33 years I’ve been alive. Maybe if the federal government properly vetted and trained Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, there wouldn’t be so much concern about their ability to protect themselves. 
    Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released a statement celebrating the ruling. “This is an important step in curbing the Trump administration’s consistent abuse of power and slowing Trump’s march toward authoritarianism,” Pritzker’s statement read. “The brave men and women of our National Guard should never be used for political theater and deserve to be with their families and communities, especially during the holidays.”
    Trump’s efforts to deploy the National Guard across American cities with Democrat leadership have continually faced legal pushback throughout the year. A federal judge blocked Trump from deploying the National Guard in Memphis and Portland, with federal judges also ruling that Trump must withdraw the National Guard from California and Washington, D.C.
    The deployments have sapped morale among Guardsmen, with some forming a group chat where they’ve openly questioned the point of the deployments in the first place. 
    Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the consistent legal pushback, and the consistent drop in morale within the National Guard, The Guardian reports that Trump approved the deployment of 350 National Guardsmen to New Orleans ahead of the new year. Federal law enforcement already has a presence in New Orleans, with Border Patrol launching an immigration crackdown earlier this month. 
    It remains to be seen if this deployment will face any legal pushback. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is a staunch Republican and a Trump loyalist who has been supportive of efforts to deploy the National Guard in New Orleans. “It’s going to help us further crack down on the violence here in the city of New Orleans and elsewhere around Louisiana,” Landry said in an appearance on The Will Cain Show on Fox News. “And so a big shoutout to both of them.”
    New Orleans Mayor-elect Democrat Helena Moreno issued a statement in support of the National Guard deployment. “Like in past years, including last year, we appreciate the support provided by our federal and state public safety partners to increase the visibility of security assets during major events such as Carnival, New Year’s, and the Sugar Bowl,” Moreno said in a statement provided to USA Today. “I have been assured that the added support of the Louisiana National Guard to help secure these large events comes at no cost to the city and plays an important role in strengthening public safety.”
    So while the New Orleans deployment looks like it will proceed without any legal pushback, the Supreme Court’s ruling may make it harder for Trump to continue deploying the National Guard in the new year. 

     

  • Newswire : Epstein pressure mounts as Trump turns to Nigeria strikes

    Map of Africa, highlighting Nigeria

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    As questions mounted over the heavily redacted release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and new material placing President Donald Trump closer to the late sex trafficker than previously acknowledged, the White House shifted abruptly to a familiar tactic. The president turned outward, announcing U.S. military strikes in Nigeria and framing the action as a defense of Christianity, while critics said the move functioned as a political diversion that again placed Black people and Black nations in the crosshairs.
    Trump claimed the United States carried out “powerful and deadly” strikes against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria, accusing them of “slaughtering” Christians. The announcement arrived as Trump faced renewed scrutiny over Epstein records that include photographs, internal Justice Department emails, and flight data that raise questions about the administration’s handling of disclosures mandated by Congress.
    “The United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding a Christmas message that included, “MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
    The Pentagon released video showing at least one projectile launched from a U.S. warship, though officials did not specify the precise target. U.S. Africa Command later said the strikes were conducted “in coordination with Nigerian authorities” in Sokoto State. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanked Nigeria for its cooperation, even as Trump publicly criticized Nigerian leaders.
    Nigerian officials rejected the religious framing. Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC the strike was a joint operation against terrorists and “has nothing to do with a particular religion.” Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reiterated that position in a Christmas Eve post, writing that Nigeria remains committed to protecting Christians, Muslims, and all citizens and opposing religious persecution.
    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with roughly 240 million people, has faced years of violence from extremist groups, criminal gangs, and insurgents that have killed people across religious lines. Just days before Trump’s statement, a blast at a mosque in northeastern Nigeria killed five people and injured dozens.
    Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom mocked the Justice Department’s release with a video highlighting extensive redactions and past footage of Trump with Epstein. The clip included a headline noting the DOJ’s defense of removing a Trump photograph from the records.
    Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said the administration failed to comply with the law governing the release. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the disclosure incomplete and misleading, pointing to pages entirely blacked out. Rep. Ro Khanna, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said the release failed both the spirit and letter of the law, while Rep. Thomas Massie said it “grossly fails to comply.”
    The documents do not place former President Barack Obama in the Epstein files and contain no evidence tying him to Epstein. They also do not reveal wrongdoing by Hillary Clinton. Former President Bill Clinton appears in social photographs, though reporting notes no indication of misconduct and Clinton has denied any.
    By contrast, the release includes material that places Trump in closer proximity to Epstein than the administration has publicly acknowledged, including a photograph of Epstein holding a novelty check bearing Trump’s signature and internal emails referencing Trump’s travel on Epstein’s jet. The Justice Department has offered no explanation for why those materials were released while others remain obscured.
    Critics argue the timing of the Nigeria strikes fits a long-established pattern. For decades, Trump has faced allegations of racial discrimination, from the 1973 Justice Department lawsuit over housing practices to his 1989 newspaper ads calling for the death penalty during the Central Park Five case, a stance he revived during the 2024 presidential debate.
    In recent months, Trump has attacked diversity initiatives, defended Confederate symbols, and advanced policies that disproportionately affected Black communities, including mass deportations and federal workforce cuts that heavily impacted Black women. Commentators have noted the administration’s willingness to portray itself as a defender of Christianity and Western identity while stoking grievance politics at home.
    As Nigeria faces new travel restrictions and renewed placement on U.S. religious freedom watchlists, Nigerian leaders continue to reject Trump’s depiction of their country. Tinubu said earlier this fall that labeling Nigeria as religiously intolerant “does not reflect our national reality.”
    “I stand committed to doing everything within my power to enshrine religious freedom in Nigeria and to protect Christians, Muslims, and all Nigerians from violence,” Tinubu wrote.

  • Eutaw Mayor Corey Cockrell announces a set of community meetings for residents to raise issues and hear plans for new year

    The Eutaw City Council met for its regular meeting on the fourth Tuesday, December 23, 2025, to deal with routine business matters. The mayor and all council members, with the exception of Jonathan Woodruff, District 2, were present.
    Mayor Corey Cockrell in his Mayor’s comments announced that he would be scheduling meetings in all districts for residents to come and voice their concerns about city issues and problems. In the meetings, Mayor Cockrell said that in addition to addressing community concerns, that he would be talking about problems of littering and late payment of water bills as well as the city’s plans for 2026 and the following years.
    The first meeting will be held at the Branch Heights Community Center on January 14, 2026, at 5:00 PM. On January 21, 2026, there will be a meeting at the Eutaw Activity Center at the same time for the same purpose. A third meeting will be held on January 28, 2026, at the Eutaw City Hall for those who missed prior meetings and want to attend.
    Commission Chair Garria Spencer was present at the meeting and explained that he was there to support the work of the Greene County Ambulance Service. “The GEMS – Greene County Ambulance Service is very needed in a rural county like ours, with many aging and isolated people, who may have a medical emergency at any time. The County Commission advanced the GEMS – $88,000 to cover back bills and expenses, at its last meeting. We advanced this money to keep the ambulance service in operation, with the understanding that other entities inn the county would help the Commission to bear this expense,” said Spencer.
    Commissioner Spencer reported that the Town of Union had authorized $15,000 and that Sheriff Joe Benison had agreed to contribute $10,000 from Bingo proceeds. Spencer urged other county entities and municipalities to come forward and support the ambulance service. He said that agencies could call Ms. Vickie Colson, Chair of the Greene County Ambulance Service for more information.
    In other business, the Eutaw City Council:
    •Approved holding a Work Session on the third Tuesday, January 20, 2026; and may hold future work sessions on the third Tuesdays at 5:00 PM.
    • Tabled action on extending a lease with Ferrellgas for a facility in the city, to seek more information.
    • Approved renewal of a contract with Pitney Bowles for a postage meter.
    • Approved registration, travel, and per diem for the Mayor, Council members and clerks to attend Alabama League of Municipalities convention, April n28- May 1, 2026, in Montgomery.
    • Approved the payment of bills.

  • Greene Co. BOE agrees to second interview with top two candidates for Superintendent’s position on January 5, 2026

    Ms. Taurus Brown Smith and Mr. Timothy Thurman 

    The Greene County Board of Education met on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, to consider the four candidates interviewed for Superintendent in a month to meeting on December 15th.
    All five School Board members were present and expressed their views on the four candidates. Mr. Leo Branch, Chair of the School Board suggested that the Board reach a consensus on who to employ.
    The Board agreed that the top two candidates, Mr. Timothy Thurman and Ms. Taurus Brown-Smith be invited back for a second interview on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 3:00 PM. One will be interviewed from 3:00 to 3:50 PM and the other from 4:00 to 4:50 PM. After which the Board hopes to select one to be the next Superintendent of Greene County Schools.
    The second interview will be open to the public, however only the board members will be able to ask questions. Mr. Branch was instructed to thank for their time and inform the other two candidates – Dr. Jessica Constant and Mr. Demond Mullins – that they were no longer in contention for the position.
    Dr. Timothy Thurman currently Superintendent Linden City Schools. His experiences include Assistant Superintendent Linden City Schools; Principal Linden High School; Teacher and Coach Perry County Schools; Director Perry County Alternative School.  Education: Doctorate Educational Leadership; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

    Ms. Taurus Brown Smith currently Education Administrator Alabama Department of Education. Her experiences include Principal Payne Elementary, Selma City Schools, Teacher, Selma City Schools. Education – National Board Certification, Early Childhood Generalist; Master’s Elementary Education; Master’s Education Administration; Bachelor’s Elementary Education.

    The Board also extended the contract of Darryl Aikerson as Interim Superintendent for an additional month until January 31, 2026. Aikerson has been serving as a volunteer at no pay in this position.
    


  • Qualifying date for 2026 Primary Election start January 5 to 23, 2026


    The Greene County Democratic Executive Committee qualifying dates for the 2026 Primary Election will begin January 5, 2026 and end January 23, 2026.
    Candidates seeking a county spot on the Democratic Primary ballot must qualify with County Chairman Lorenzo French. At the Greene County Courthouse 9 a.m- 4 p.m. The County ballot positions include Sheriff, Coroner, Revenue Commissioner, County Commissioner and School Board member for District Three, Four and Five.
    Candidates seeking a county spot on the Democratic Executive Committee also qualify locally.
    To qualify…. “ a person’s domicile is that place in which his habitation is fixed, without any present intention of removing, and it embraces (1) the fact of residence and (2) the intention to remain. As a general proposition, a person can have but one domicile, [which] once acquired is presumed to continue until a new one is gained…”

  • Newswire : Zohran Mamdani to be sworn in as New York City mayor by Sen. Bernie Sanders and AG Letitia James

    Zohran Mamdani with Senator Bernie Sanders

    By Ben Kamisar, HBCU News

    Incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will be sworn into office in January by state Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., his fellow democratic socialist.
    Sanders will oversee the mayor-elect’s ceremonial swearing-in at a New Year’s Day block party, while James will formally swear in Mamdani at midnight when his term officially begins.
    In a news release announcing the events, the transition noted that Sanders’ “unapologetic progressive values inspired Zohran to run for office in the first place.”
    “It is an honor to be sworn in by two leaders I have admired for years: Attorney General Tish James and Senator Bernie Sanders. Attorney General James has taken on powerful interests in her defense of New Yorkers and embodied the principle of equal justice before the law,” Mamdani said in a statement.
    “Senator Bernie Sanders laid the foundations for our movement with his steadfast commitment to the dignity of working people and his belief in a government that serves the many, not just the few. I can think of no better leaders to help usher in a new era for New York City,” Mamdani said.
    Mamdani, who beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in last month’s election, is set to become mayor of the country’s largest city on Jan. 1 (and its first Muslim mayor). Mamdani campaigned with Sanders, as he electrified the same progressive electorate locally that the senator from Vermont activated in his two presidential bids.
    James was one of Mamdani’s most prominent endorsements from a state where many major Democrats tried to keep their distance from the progressive candidate. As the Democratic primary was conducted by ranked choice, which allowed voters to rank up to five candidates (in order of preference), James announced she was ranking Mamdani third on her ballot. In October, James spoke at a rally with Mamdani shortly after she was indicted on fraud charges tied to a mortgage loan (a federal judge later tossed that indictment).
    “He is a leader fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it’s like to be attacked, to be called names, to be threatened, to be harassed,” James said at the time.

  • Newswire Andrea Lucas, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) head wants White men to report DEI discrimination 

    Andrea Lucus

    Since becoming chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Andrea Lucas has shifted the agency’s focus to ending workplace DEI initiatives.
    By Joe Jurado, NewsOne

    According to AP, on Wednesday evening, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas wrote on X, “Are you a white male who has experienced discrimination at work based on your race or sex? You may have a claim to recover money under federal civil rights laws,” on a video of herself. She referred people to a “DEI-related discrimination” fact sheet posted by the agency and urged affected workers to contact the agency “as soon as possible
    Black women are disproportionately affected by rising unemployment rates, but this is what the EEOC chooses to focus on.
    Only a few hours before Lucas posted, Vice President JD Vance posted an article he said “describes the evil of DEI and its consequences.” Lucas cosigned the post, writing, “Absolutely right @JDVance. And precisely because this widespread, systemic, unlawful discrimination primarily harmed white men, elites didn’t just turn a blind eye; they celebrated it. Absolutely unacceptable; unlawful; immoral.”
    White supremacy is such weak-ass behavior. How are you the superior race, but constantly being victimized by the races you deem lesser? Make it make sense, y’all. 
    Lucas was named as the EEOC chair in November. Trump appointed her to the EEOCin 2020 during his forst term and elevated her to chair in 2025. Under her direction, the agency has shifted focus to “rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination.” David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the NYU School of Law, told AP that Lucas’ post reveals a “fundamental misunderstanding of what DEI is.”
    “It’s really much more about creating a culture in which you get the most out of everyone who you’re bringing on board, where everyone experiences fairness and equal opportunity, including white men and members of other groups,” Glasgow added. The Meltzer Center tracks lawsuits that could affect DEI initiatives, and it’s found that while it has been used to discriminate in several isolated incident, there hasn’t been “any kind of systematic evidence that white men are being discriminated against.”
    Glasgow pointed out that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are overwhelmingly white men, with white men still making up the majority of corporate leadership, state and federal legislators, and other notable fields. “If DEI has been this engine of discrimination against white men, I have to say it hasn’t really been doing a very good job at achieving that,” Glasgow said.
    Jenny Yang, a former EEOC chair, told AP that it was “unusual” and “problematic” that the agency is now prioritizing the civil rights of one group. “It suggests some sort of priority treatment,” Yang said. “That’s not something that sounds to me like equal opportunity for all.”
    She noted how, under Lucas, the agency has completely deprioritized workplace discrimination cases filed by transgender workers. “It worries me that a message is being sent that the EEOC only cares about some workers and not others,” Yang told AP. 
    It’s genuinely disheartening how much progress the Trump administration has managed to roll back in only a year. America has become far worse for Black, brown, and LGBTQ citizens, and the white folks who voted for this are still broke. So much winning.

  • Newswire : Parents now pay more for childcare than housing across the U.S.

    By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

    Childcare is draining American families with a force that has begun to rival housing costs, and new national analysis shows that in cities across the country, parents are paying more to care for their children than to keep a roof over their heads. Researchers at LendingTree found that infant care exceeds average rent in 11 of the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, while childcare for two children exceeds rent in 85 cities across the country.

    The spike in expenses lands at a moment when the federal shutdown has blocked funding for 140 Head Start programs that serve 65,000 preschoolers. At least 20 programs have partially or fully closed, directly affecting nearly 10,000 children whose families now face soaring out-of-pocket Childcare costs with no federal support.
    Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst for LendingTree, called the price crush unavoidable for many families. “Spending almost $1,300 a month on Childcare is a massive burden for parents, but most families don’t have another choice,” Schulz stated. “They can’t stay home. They don’t have family or friends they can rely on for Childcare. They have no other option but to put up a ton of money each month for Childcare.”
    According to LendingTree, full-time infant care across the 100 largest metro areas averages $1,282 per month, compared with $1,716 for a two-bedroom rental. But in cities like Springfield, Massachusetts, parents now spend $1,996 on infant care compared with $1,734 for a two-bedroom apartment. That fifteen percent gap is the highest in the country. Milwaukee follows at nearly fifteen percent. Wichita, Omaha, Baltimore, Buffalo, Syracuse, Spokane, Minneapolis, Toledo, and Worcester also report infant care costs that outpace rent by significant margins.
    The financial blow becomes more punishing for households with two children. Families in Omaha are paying $2,891 a month for Childcare for an infant and a four-year-old, more than twice the city’s average monthly rent of $1,368. Milwaukee and Buffalo are close behind, with Childcare there also costing more than double the rent. Households in Springfield, Syracuse, Toledo, Spokane, Minneapolis, Wichita, and Rochester all face gaps of seventy percent or more between Childcare costs and rent.
    LendingTree notes that while the situation is severe in many regions, the pressure is also felt in cities where rent is extremely high. In Miami, San Jose, and San Francisco, rent still exceeds Childcare costs, but Childcare remains a heavy expense that continues to climb. Nationally, the price of Childcare increased more than thirty percent between 2020 and 2024, driven in part by shortages of early childhood educators and widespread Childcare deserts in rural and low-income regions.
    For many households, the federal shutdown has turned an already strained system into a breaking point. Without funding, Head Start programs in more than a dozen states have already halted classes or reduced hours. Advocates warn that families who lose subsidized early childhood education face few alternatives, especially in communities that already lack available Childcare slots.
    Schulz said families should brace for continued financial pressure. “High rent and Childcare costs create massive challenges for most young families,” he said. “However, to the degree possible, it is important to not fully ignore long-term goals like retirement and emergency savings.”

  • Newswire : U.S. Capitol unveils statue of teen civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns, taking Robert E. Lee’s spot

    A statue of Virginia civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns, whose statue will replace one of Robert E. Lee as one of Virginia’s two statues on display at the Capitol, is unveiled Tuesday in Washington, D.C.Mark Schiefelbein / AP

    By The Associated Press
    The U.S. Capitol on Tuesday began displaying a statue of a teenaged Barbara Rose Johns as she protested poor conditions at her segregated Virginia high school, a pointed replacement for a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was removed several years ago.
    An unveiling ceremony of the statue representing Virginia in the Capitol took place in Emancipation Hall, featuring Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s congressional delegation and Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger.
    Johnson said more than 200 members of Johns’ family were on hand, listening on as the ceremony included renditions of “How Great Thou Art,” “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” and “Total Praise” performed by the Eastern Senior High School choir from Washington.
    “We are here to honor one of America’s true trailblazers, a woman who embodied the essence of the American spirit in her fight for liberty and justice and equal treatment under the law, the indomitable Barbara Rose Johns,” Johnson said.
    Johns was 16 years old in 1951 when she led a student strike for equal education at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia. The students’ cause gained the support of NAACP lawyers, who filed a lawsuit that would become one of the five cases that the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed in Brown v. Board of Education. The high court’s landmark 1954 decision declared “separate but equal” public schools unconstitutional.
    Johns later married the Rev. William Powell and became Barbara Rose Johns Powell, raised five children and was a librarian in the Philadelphia Public Schools. She died at 56 in 1991.
    “She put God first in her life. She was brave, bold, determined, strong, wise, unselfish, warm and loving,” said Terry Harrison, one of her daughters.
    The statue shows the young Johns standing to the side of a lectern, holding a tattered book over her head. Its pedestal is engraved with the words, “Are we going to just accept these conditions, or are we going to do something about it?” It also features a quote from the Book of Isaiah: “And a little child shall lead them.”
    The statue replaces one of Lee that was removed in December 2020 from the Capitol, where it had represented Virginia for 111 years. The removal occurred during a time of renewed national attention over Confederate monuments after the death of George Floyd and was relocated to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
    “The Commonwealth of Virginia will now be properly represented by an actual patriot who embodied the principle of liberty and justice for all, and not a traitor who took up arms against the United States to preserve the brutal institution of chattel slavery,” Jeffries said at the ceremony
    Johns’ sister, Joan Johns Cobbs, read from a journal entry by Johns: “And then there were times I just prayed, ‘God, please grant us a new school, please let us have a warm place to stay where we won’t have to keep our coats on all day to stay warm. God, please help us. We are your children too.’”
    The Johns piece is part of the National Statuary Hall Collection at the Capitol, in which each state can contribute two statues. The other statue representing Virginia is of George Washington.
    National Statuary Hall displays 35 of the statues. Others are in the Crypt, the Hall of Columns and the Capitol Visitor Center. Johnson said the Johns statue will be placed in the Crypt.
    Former Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam had requested the removal of the Lee statue. In December 2020, a state commission recommended replacing Lee’s statue with a statue of Johns.
    The Johns statue, sculpted by Steven Weitzman of Maryland, received final approval from the Architect of the Capitol and the Joint Committee on the Library in July.
    Johns is also featured in a sculpture at the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial outside the state Capitol in Richmond. The former high school is now a National Historic Landmark and museum.
    “It’s an incredibly profound moment, a moment to stand in a tar shack classroom with a hot potbelly stove as a heater, tar paper walls, shabby desks, right where 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns courageously organized her schoolmates and stood up to the lie — the lie was separate but equal,” Youngkin said of the museum.