Jane Cooper Johnson (formerly Daisy Jane Cooper) stands in front of Richmond’s newest sculpture “Strides” during its unveiling at the corner of Libbie and Patterson Avenues on Jan. 30. The statue was commissioned by Bon Secours and Thalhimer Realty Partners, and designed by local artists Matt Lively and Tim Harper to commemorate the racial integration of Westhampton School at the corner of Libbie and Patterson. The inscription on the statue behind her reads: “On September 5, 1961 Daisy Jane Cooper was the first African American Student to integrate Richmond City’s Westhampton Junior High School under a U.S. Desegregation Court Order. The following year, September 1962, she was the first African American student to integrate Thomas Jefferson High School.”
