Children of Courage is the working title of the first draft of a play focusing on the actions and ramifications of the 1951 Moton Student Strike in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The Robert Russa Moton Museum in association with Waterworks Players Community Theatre have commissioned playwright Harrison David Rivers to create the work. While the story may be familiar to some, this telling brings to life the students with the courage to stand up and walk out.

Lead by 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns, the strike produced three-fourths of the plaintiffs As in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark Supreme Court decision desegregating U.S. schools. Subsequently, Prince Edward County closed their public schools for five years, from 1959 to 1964, in defiance of a court order to desegregate.

Staged readings of the play will take place at the Waterworks Players Theatre (25 SMI Way in Farmville) at 7 PM on 3 July 2026 and at the Robert Russa Moton Museum auditorium (900 Griffin Blvd in Farmville) at 3 PM on 4 July 2026. The staged readings will be followed by Q&A’s to assist the development of the play for eventual production at the Waterworks Players Theatre. The readings are free and open admission.

The revolutionary idea, the struggle for civil rights, spurred action not just on buses, at lunch counters, or on the streets, but also in classrooms and in courtrooms. The Prince Edward story, the story of the journey from segregated to integrated public schools and the courage it took begin and achieve this outcome, will be told in this new play for contemporary audiences written by an award-winning playwright.

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with the Moton Museum and Waterworks Players,” says Harrison Rivers, “to tell this incredible story. The 1951 Moton High School walkout is part of a long and proud history of Americans courageously fighting for civil rights. It is my hope that CHILDREN OF COURAGE will serve as both a celebration of heroism of Barbara Johns and her classmates and a reminder that the fight for human dignity is ongoing. Each of us has a responsibility to do what we can to put and end to systemic oppression and discrimination, so that all individuals can live with respect and freedom.”

The 1951 Moton student strike launched a thirteen-year court battle to achieve educational equality. Davis v. Prince Edward was the only student-initiated case of the five that comprised Brown v. Board of Education. “At its core, this project is about honoring the courage of young people” says Cainan Townsend, the Moton’s Executive Director, “whose actions reshaped the course of American education. Presenting this history on stage allows audiences to experience it in a deeply human and immediate way. We believe it will resonate with people for years to come, inspiring them to see their own power to lead and create change.”

Mr. Rivers, whose work for History Theatre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, includes: A Unique Assignment that explores a different milestone moment in Civil Rights history through the experience of James Meredith who was the first African American admitted to the University of Mississippi.

“With this background in taking stories from History, Moton Museum Executive Director Cainan Townsend and I knew” says Waterworks Board President and Director Sean Dowse, “that Mr. Rivers would be the right person to bring Children of Courage to life on the stage.”

This project is supported, in part, by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission (VA250), and the National Endowment for the Arts/America250.

Contact: Sean Dowse, Waterworks Players (651) 301-9651