Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Two Virginia schools will revert to their Confederate names in U-turn four years after board axed references to military leaders in wake of George Floyd protests
A Virginia school board today voted to reinstate Confederate names to two schools that were stripped of their original names in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
The school board of Shenandoah County, Virginia, voted 5-1 to undo the 2020 decision, which saw a high school and elementary school stripping the names of three military leaders of the pro-slavery Southern states in the US Civil War: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby.
The schools were called Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School – both in Quicksburg, Virginia – but were renamed Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School.
The dramatic reversal comes after four years of wrangling following the original name changes during Covid and in the wake of the George Floyd murder by police in Minneapolis that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.
It is believed to be the country's first case of any schools being realigned with Confederate icons amid continuing public unease over associations with a movement that fought to maintain slavery.
Eighth-grade student Aaliyah Ogle speaks against reverting the names of two schools in Quicksburg, Virginia, to those honoring Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee at an emotional public session of Shenandoah County Schools Board on May 9, 2024
The school board of Shenandoah County, Virginia, voted 5-1 to undo the 2020 decision that had renamed the district's high school to Mountain View High (pictured)
The school's original name, after Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson, was changed four years ago as part of a resolution to condemn racism
Demonstrators call on the Shenandoah County school board to vote against restoring previously removed Confederate names to two local schools ahead of a school board meeting
The vote went through despite furious backlash from some residents who had formed a group called Claim the Names to fight the return – and many others who spoke passionately at the public part of the meeting which lasted more than five hours.
School board documents showed the 2020 name change was part of a resolution to condemn 'racism and affirm the division's commitment to an inclusive school environment for all.'
A local conservative coalition, the Coalition for Better Schools, asked the Shenandoah County school board in April to reinstate the names, writing that doing so was 'essential to honor our community's heritage.'
In its written request to the board, the group cited surveys that it mailed to residents of the districts from which the schools' students are drawn, saying that out of 1,160 responses to 8,507 surveys sent, more than 90% favored switching back to the Confederate names.
The vote went through despite furious backlash from some residents who had formed a group called Claim the Names to fight the return – and many others who spoke passionately at the public part of the meeting which lasted more than five hours.
These included African American eighth-grade student, Aaliyah Ogle, who pleaded with eloquence for the new names to stay.
Virginia residents listen to public comments during a Shenandoah County school board hearing before the board voted to restore its original names
Ashby-Lee Elementary School, named after Confederate commander Robert E. Lee, and officer Turner Ashby, was also renamed to Honey Run Elementary School
But less than two years later, a petition was launched to gauge the strength of feeling on reverting the schools back to their original names, which was decided on a 5-1 vote on Thursday
Kyle Gutshall, the board's vice chairman, said the 2020 name change had increased public attention on the board and helped shift its political composition to the right
The middle schooler took to the podium in front the of packed meeting and said: 'This year I played three sports at Mountain View. I'm a black student.'
If the school's name is reverted to Stonewall Jackson she said: 'I would have to represent a man that fought for my ancestors to be slaves.
'That makes me feel like I'm disrespecting my ancestors and going against what my family and I believe, which is that you should all be treated equally and that slavery an awful thing.
'It is unfair to me that restoring the names is up for discussion. Stonewall Jackson fought for slavery to be a constitutional right that would be carried out forever.'
Sarah Kohrs, who graduated from both schools, co-leads a citizens group that has garnered 687 signatures on an online petition to keep the current names.
Her oldest child attends the high school and she expects to enroll a younger child there as well.
'Their diplomas are going to state something, and I don't want it to state something linked to a Confederate general,' she said. 'I had to deal with that my entire life. I don't want my kids to deal with that.'
Kyle Gutshall, the board's vice chairman, said the 2020 name change had increased public attention on the board and helped shift its political composition to the right.
A group called Coalition for Better Schools then ramped up the pressure by distributing survey leaflets saying 'the names can be restored' and asking recipients to tick off the original titles
It claimed 91.3 percent of people who returned the forms demanded the schools go back to their original names
He voted to reinstate the Confederate names when a similar motion came up in 2022, primarily because he felt the 2020 decision was made without sufficient public input. The 2022 motion failed due to a tied vote.
The dramatically different outcome on Thursday follows the appointment four months ago of three new members to the board in a county steeped in Civil War history.
Their campaigning included calling for a rethink on the original switch, saying the 5-1 vote was not carried out following proper public consultation amid the pandemic.
A group called Coalition for Better Schools then ramped up the pressure by distributing survey leaflets saying 'the names can be restored' and asking recipients to tick two boxes next to the four choices.
It claimed 91.3 percent of people who returned the forms demanded the schools go back to their original names – and passed the results to the Shenandoah board asking members to consider the move.
The group's letter to members, obtained by DailyMail.com, said: 'These schools hold historical significance and have been integral parts of our community for many years…
'We understand that the decision to rename these schools was made in response to discussions surrounding Confederate symbols. However, we believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor out community's heritage and respect the wishes of the majority.'
It added: 'Restoring these names would demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity, respect for history, and responsiveness to community feedback.'
The elementary school was named, in part, after Robert E. Lee
Reverting to the names bucks a four-year trend of US institutions removing symbols of the Confederacy following nationwide racial justice protests
Gutshall said there was 'overwhelming' support in his district to keep the current names but that a 60% majority of the entire county still appeared to favor the old ones.
Michelle Manning, who represented Gutshall's district in 2020, said she and other board members heard for weeks from county residents who supported changing the schools' names before they voted to do so, even though in-person feedback opportunities were more limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manning said some supporters of the current names might be afraid to speak out due to how charged the issue had become.
'I received phone calls threatening my well-being after our vote in 2020, so I personally cannot blame people,' she said.
Reverting to the names bucks a four-year trend of US institutions removing symbols of the Confederacy following nationwide racial justice protests triggered by the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers.
Among the more than 60 U.S. schools formerly named after Confederate figures that have changed their name since 2020, none have reinstated the Confederate names so far, according to trade publication Education Week, which tracks such schools.