The school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, voted on Friday to restore the names of Confederate leaders at two public schools.
The measure to reverse a previous board’s decision to change the names of schools linked to Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby passed in a 5-1 vote.
Mountain View High School will restore its previous name, Stonewall Jackson High School.
Honey Run Elementary School will restore its previous name, Ashby-Lee Elementary School.
WATCH:
Confederate names will be reinstated at two schools in Shenandoah County, Virginia, after the school board voted in favor of the move. US institutions removed symbols of the Confederacy for four years following George Floyd's murder in 2020 pic.twitter.com/6iBDXnPAEm
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 10, 2024
“I ask that when you cast your vote, you remember that Stonewall Jackson and others fighting on the side of the Confederacy in this area were intent on protecting the land, the buildings and the lives of those under attack,” said a woman urging the board to restore the Confederate names, according to CNN.
Per CNN:
In the years since the 2020 killing of George Floyd, the names of Confederate leaders, Confederate monuments and symbols have been removed from numerous schools, universities, military facilities and even the Washington National Cathedral’s windows.
Nearly four years ago, the Shenandoah County School Board made such a decision and moved to rename Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School. The schools had been named after Confederate Gens. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby.
That 2020 move was part of a resolution condemning racism and affirming the district’s “commitment to an inclusive school environment,” according to school board documents.
The schools have been called Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School since July 2021, according to board documents.
But the composition of the school board is different now than it was during the 2020 decision – all six seats are held by different people.
BREAKING: Members of the school board for Shenandoah County Public Schools have voted to restore the former Confederate names of two schools, marking what appears to be one of the first reversals of removed Confederate names over the past four years.
Mountain View High School… pic.twitter.com/659k4DJ6ap
— Ben Zeisloft (@BenZeisloft) May 10, 2024
Congrats to my sister-in-law Gloria Carlineo—elected to the Shenandoah County School Board last year—on pushing for this & getting it done 🇺🇸https://t.co/1sGnCKhip3 https://t.co/Hc2nEOKNlr
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) May 10, 2024
NBC News reports:
But in Shenandoah County, the conservative group Coalition for Better Schools petitioned school officials to reinstate the names of Jackson, Lee and Ashby. “We believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor our community’s heritage and respect the wishes of the majority,” the coalition wrote in an April 3 letter to the board, according to a copy posted online.
The board considered a similar motion in 2022, but it failed because of a tie vote.
Four years ago, a previous incarnation of the board moved to change the names in a 5-1 vote, according to minutes from a meeting held July 9, 2020. The minutes say that the goal of the resolution was “condemning racism and affirming the division’s commitment to an inclusive school environment for all.”
The current members said the 2020 board’s decision was made hastily and without appropriate community input. About 80 people spoke Thursday before the board’s vote — more than 50 of them against restoring the old names.