Sydney Trent, longtime Washington Post editor and journalist, gave a moving tribute to Barbara Rose Johns and Dr. Martin Luther King during an address Tuesday at Longwood University.

Trent, the goddaughter of Barbara spoke about the family’s ties to Prince Edward County. She spoke about the impact her family has had through generations, of Barbara’s courageous actions during the student-led walkout of Robert Russa Moton High School in 1951 to address educational inequality and the school’s dilapidated conditions compared with the all-white high school.

Trent spoke about the perspectives held by Barbara, by Barbara’s uncle Vernon Jones, by King, that allowed them to take on the courageous task of dismantling racism.

It’s a task, Trent said, that is upon us to take on today.

Trent spoke about mountaintop imagination, the ability to see the big picture in history, morality, and our role in bringing about justice. From the mountaintop, Trent said, we can see what needs to be done without fear, defensiveness or self-preservation. There’s creativity, imagination, the ability to pull communities together toward a larger goal.

The Moton Museum, students who participated in the walkout and who were affected by the county’s decision to close public schools from 1959-1964, and Longwood University have done important and necessary work to keep the county’s history alive. The county’s history allows us to remember peoples’ courage and pain, to make sure that the county, and hopefully society at large, do not repeat the same actions.

We at The Herald are grateful to Trent, to members of Johns’ family, and to everyone who has worked to create events throughout the week to remember King and his actions for Civil Rights.