Dr. Larissa Fergeson, a specialist at Longwood in both the history of Virginia and the Civil Rights Movement, has penned an incisive opinion piece that appeared in the 21 February edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
In the essay, Fergeson notes the ironic twists of history in that the building which once served as a headquarters for Virginia's Massive Resistance against desegregation is now being renamed in honor of Barbara Johns, the courageous young woman who led fellow students at Moton High School in a 1951 walkout that contributed heavily to the Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended desegregation.