PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Seventy-five years ago today, a Prince Edward County teenager rallied her classmates to take a stand against segregation in schools. Their bravery and activism paved the way for the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. On Thursday, April 23, Gov. Abigai l Spanberger (D) issued a proclamation marking the 75th anniversary of the Moton High School walkout, which was spearheaded by then-16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns. Johns was a student at Robert Russa Moton High School, an all-Black school located in the Farmville area. The eight-classroom facility that "had twice as many students as it was designed for and had no gym or cafeteria," according to the National Park Service (NPS). Honoring Black History: 79-year-old Prince Edward woman returns to school after segregation-era shutdowns On April 23, 1951, Johns organized a walkout at Moton High. She and her fellow students announced that they were done being subjected to overcrowding, poor facilities and systemic neglect. According to Spanberger, in this historic moment, these teenagers "demonstrated extraordinary courage by demanding the quality education they were denied." The resulting court case, Davis v. The County School Board of Prince Edward County, was one of the five cases that were eventually consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education -- the landmark case that determined segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. In this way, Johns and her classmates were influential in the desegregation of America's schools -- even if Prince Edward County chose to react by closing their own schools for several years just to avoid desegregating them. They were the only school district in the country to do so. Spanberger emphasized that the Moton students' impact can still be felt today, as their legacy "continues to inspire movements for educational equity, civic engagement and social justice across generations." “Barbara Johns and her fellow students showed all Virginians that history doesn’t necessarily belong to the people already in power — it belongs to anyone willing to stand up for what’s right, no matter how young, no matter the odds,” Spanberger said in a press release. “These students from Farmville helped change what was possible for every child who came after them. Three-quarters of a century later, their example still calls us forward. I join all Virginians in honoring these students on this 75th anniversary of the Moton High School Walkout. Their example endures even today.” If you'd like to learn more about this piece of history, check out the Robert Russa Moton Museum. ...read more read less