The story in three lines. In 1951, sixteen-year-old Barbara Johns secretly organised more than four hundred students at her overcrowded Black high school in Farmville, Virginia, to walk out. The lawyers who took their case would only argue for an end to segregation, not a better segregated school. The case became part of Brown v. Board of Education, and the county then closed its schools for five years.

One question to ask. "Which line would you keep?" Then: "Was it fair to trick the principal?" There is no settled answer, which is why it is worth asking.

One thing to do at the table. Ask everyone: if you could fix one thing at your school, what would you ask for? Then ask: what would the bigger version of that request be, and who might it cost?

The grown-up layer. Teenagers are often told about Brown v. Board and rarely told that one of its cases was started by a sixteen-year-old, or that the county answered by closing its schools. The story ends on a question about what to ask for, because that was Barbara's real choice. The Honest Page notes that the walkout was planned for months, not spontaneous.

Ask for the line before you offer yours.