Two schools in Virginia will once again bear the names of Confederate generals.
The Shenandoah County Public School Board voted on May 9 to reverse a decision made in 2020 in the wake of the rising racial tensions after the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
In April, the Coalition for Better Schools asked the board to reconsider its decision. The community organization, which was formed after the change, sent a letter to the board stating that the original school names “hold historical significance and have been integral parts of our community for many years.” CBS surveyed local citizens and found that 91.3% of respondents wanted to revert to the original names of both the high school and the elementary school.
“We understand that the decision to rename these schools was made in response to discussions surrounding Confederate symbols,” wrote CBS. “However, we believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor our community’s heritage and respect the wishes of the majority.”
The organization asked that the board members “consider the majority sentiment while making decisions on behalf of the community, as opposed to the top-down process used by the previous School Board.”
“We appreciate your dedication to our schools and the well-being of our students,” added CBS in the letter. “Restoring these names would demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity, respect for history, and responsiveness to community feedback.”
“We live in a historic area and I just hate to see any remnant of it destroyed, of our heritage. A lot of the alumni I’ve spoken to wished it to remain the same,” James Thomas, a member of the coalition who graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in 1968, told WHSV in April.
Mike Scheibe, the spokesperson for CBS, told WHSV that removing traces of the Confederacy will not solve racism.
“There are racists everywhere. They’re in schools named after Abraham Lincoln, there are racists in schools named after the local town, there are racists in the Food Lion, here or in New York City, Massachusetts, wherever, that’s part of their culture,” he said. “I don’t believe that the names on the schools necessarily condone or push racism if anything it can open up the possibilities of a discussion about it and that’s how things will change.”
The board had previously been asked to reconsider the name change in 2022 but the motion failed after a 3-3 vote.
The schools – Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School – had been renamed Mountain View High and Honey Run Elementary following a unanimous vote in January of 2021.
Changing the names of the schools had reportedly cost $300,000. CBS has said private donors have pledged to cover the cost of reversing the change.
Following the latest vote, the schools will once again be named in honor of Confederate Generals Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby.
Efforts to remove the names of Confederates were widespread in Virginia following the summer of 2020, which was marked by riots in major cities and a surge in support of Black Lives Matter groups.
The Virginia Military Institute removed a statue of Jackson in December of 2020. Lexington’s city council voted unanimously to rename a cemetery named after Jackson. Multiple Confederate statues were removed from the state’s capital city, Richmond.
