Barbara Rose Johns | |
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![]() Johns in a high school graduation photo (1952) | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | March 6, 1935
Died | September 28, 1991 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 56)
Occupation(s) | Civil rights activist, librarian |
Known for | Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County R.R. Moton High School protest |
Spouse | William Powell |
Children | 5 |
Barbara Rose Johns Powell (March 6, 1935 – September 28, 1991)[1] was a leader in the American civil rights movement.[2] On April 23, 1951, at the age of 16, Powell led a student strike for equal education opportunities at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, Prince Edward County, Virginia. After securing NAACP legal support, the Moton students filed Davis v. Prince Edward County, the only student-initiated case consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring "separate but equal" public schools unconstitutional.