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- In June, the Fairfax County, Va., School Board voted to rename Robert E. Lee High School.
- This is part of a national undertaking to remove public glorifications of white supremacists.
In Virginia, the Fairfax County Public School System is in the process of renaming Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield as multiple states remove or rename public monuments that appear to glorify the Confederacy and the lasting effects slavery has had on U.S. society.
The change follows a vote in June in which the school board elected to rename the school in a unanimous decision, local station WJLA reports.
Fairfax County School Superintendent Scott Brabrand has reportedly suggested six names for board approval, including renaming the school after the late civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis. His name was reportedly on the list before his recent passing.
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WJLA writes that this list of replacement names honors progressive icons or neutral monikers. The six candidates are John Lewis, Barack Obama, Mildred Loving, César Chávez, Legacy High School or Central Springfield High School.
Kimberly Boateng, an upcoming senior at the school, supports the change.
“I fully support going to a school named John Lewis High School,” Boateng told reporters. “The fact that Congressman John Lewis, to the very last of his days was there fighting, it really is a testament to what we can accomplish and how strongly we can fight for things. So I think it would be a very powerful name.”
Although a new name has yet to be finalized, the school has already removed Lee’s name on school signs and also removed a picture of the general from the lobby of the school.
Alumni of the school are also on board with renaming their alma mater.
“To go from being named after Robert E. Lee to John Lewis, someone we all recognize as a civil rights hero, is something we hope to get done,” Nathnael Alazar, a 2018 alumnus, told the press. “We’ve been fighting this name issue for a long time, so now that it’s actually happening, hopefully, John Lewis is the new name.”
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Alazar’s sister Luna recently graduated from the school and said she spent the past few months lobbying for its renaming.
“We from the beginning wanted a name that represents the diverse community that we are at this school, and he fought for a diverse community. So it reflects who we are,” she is quoted as saying.
Among both recent alumni and school board members, naming the school after John Lewis appears to have strong support.
“John Lewis was one of the recommendations suggested by our Superintendent and I think it would be an excellent choice,” said School Board Member Tamara Derenak Kaufax, who represents the Lee District, the current home of the school. “ I will bring my recommendation to the Board on Thursday during our regular Board meeting. We will vote on the name that evening and this process to rename Robert E. Lee HS – that started over a year and half ago – will be complete with a name that I hope inspires and brings together the community.”
Multiple institutions have revoked images of the Confederacy and Colonialism, since both are symbols of the suppression of Black and brown people. Virginia recently removed multiple Confederate statues — including one of General Lee — from its historic Monument Avenue, and other cities have gotten rid of statues ranging from Confederate soldiers to Christopher Columbus.
While the idea of removing images of the Civil War from mainstream culture has gained traction across the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death, federal leadership is not as enthusiastic.
Speaking to Chris Wallace on Fox Morning News, President Trump pushed back on the idea of revoking the names of Confederate military leaders from public spaces, including at military bases like Fort Bragg, named for General Braxton Bragg, and Fort Lee.
President Trump said the names are historic and that he does not care how the military feels about changing the names.
“I’m supposed to make the decision,” he told Wallace. “Fort Bragg is a big deal. We won two World Wars. No one even knows General Bragg. We won two World Wars. Go to that community where Fort Bragg is, in a great state, I love that state, go to the community, say how do you like the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then what are we going to name it?”
This comes as new data suggests that a slight majority of Americans accept and support the removal of Confederate monuments.
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