A Push to Change Confederate School Names across US South
2020-09-09
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1Trude Lamb is a top cross country runner at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas.
2But the name on her sports jersey, she says, is a sharp reminder of a man "who didn't believe people like me were 100 percent human."
3Over the summer, she wrote a letter to Tyler school board officials.
4Lamb, who is from Ghana, told them she had seen the horrific conditions of slave dungeons on the African coast.
5She said that she could not support a name that celebrates a Confederate general who fought on the side of slavery.
6Lee commanded southern rebel forces against the U.S. military during the Civil War.
7Along with many current and former students at the high school, Lamb pushed to change the school's name this year.
8The campaign was launched under the hashtag #wewontwearthename.
9The school board approved the change in July after years of resistance.
10"That name was not a black supporter. He owned slaves," said Lamb. He did anything he could to harm or remove Black people, she added.
11"I'm like, 'No, not wearing this name on my jersey,'" she told The Associated Press.
12More than 100 public schools in the United States are named for Confederate leaders.
13Perhaps 90 percent of them are named for General Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis or General Stonewall Jackson.
14That information comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
15Many of the schools were founded as all-white schools during the days of racial segregation.
16But now they also serve African American students.
17At least 12 now have majority Black student bodies.
18A new push has come to rename many of the schools as nationwide protests over police abuse and racial injustice have led to the removal of Confederate statues.
19Several school systems in Alabama, Texas and Virginia have voted to change school names in recent months,
20but local resistance and state laws make that no simple act.
21Lamb gained national attention for her letter to the Tyler, Texas, school board.
22She has since become a target of social media attacks with racist language and even threats of violence, her mother said.
23In Montgomery, Alabama, three high schools are named after Lee, Davis and Sidney Lanier, a writer who was a Confederate soldier.
24"It's a basic insult to all the African American children who would have to walk past a statue or go to a school that is named after a white supremacist," said Amerika Blair.
25She was among those pushing for the change.
26Blair attended Robert E. Lee High in Montgomery and completed her studies there in 2009.
27The Montgomery County School Board voted in July to change the names of the three schools.
28But a 2017 state law protects Confederate statues and other long-standing memorials and names.
29The school system will have to get special permission from a committee and the soonest it would get a decision is October.
30If denied, the school system must pay $25,000 for breaking the law by changing the name without permission.
31Like many other Confederate-named schools, Lee in Montgomery opened as an all-white school in 1955.
32That was one year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.
33At that time, the South was actively fighting federal orders to integrate.
34But after integration became law, white people left some neighborhoods.
35So, a lot of the schools became heavily African American.
36A statue of Lee stood outside the school for many years - facing north to keep an eye on his enemies, school legend says.
37But in June, a group of people pushed the statue down.
38Four individuals were arrested but the charges were later dropped.
39Similar pushes to rename schools are taking place across the country.
40The Southern Poverty Law Center said about 40 schools have been renamed or closed in the past few years.
41In Virginia, the removal of Confederate names began in the state's northern cities and towns in 2018.
42That is when J.E.B. Stuart High in Falls Church changed to Justice High.
43Washington-Lee High School in Arlington changed its name to Washington-Liberty at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
44The movement to change school names expanded outside northern Virginia as Black Lives Matter protests took hold after the police killing of George Floyd in May.
45For example, in Hanover County, a conservative area near Richmond, the school board voted narrowly to change the name of Lee-Davis High.
46Changing names is part of the move from one period in history to another, noted historian Wayne Flynt.
47He has written many history books on the American South.
48Flynt pointed out a connection between school names and inequity.
49He said the same beliefs that led to the Confederate school names also created education systems that often leave minority children in underfunded and failing schools.
50I'm Alice Bryant.
1Trude Lamb is a top cross country runner at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas. But the name on her sports jersey, she says, is a sharp reminder of a man "who didn't believe people like me were 100 percent human." 2Over the summer, she wrote a letter to Tyler school board officials. Lamb, who is from Ghana, told them she had seen the horrific conditions of slave dungeons on the African coast. She said that she could not support a name that celebrates a Confederate general who fought on the side of slavery. Lee commanded southern rebel forces against the U.S. military during the Civil War. 3Along with many current and former students at the high school, Lamb pushed to change the school's name this year. The campaign was launched under the hashtag #wewontwearthename. 4The school board approved the change in July after years of resistance. 5"That name was not a black supporter. He owned slaves," said Lamb. He did anything he could to harm or remove Black people, she added. "I'm like, 'No, not wearing this name on my jersey,'" she told The Associated Press. 6More than 100 public schools in the United States are named for Confederate leaders. Perhaps 90 percent of them are named for General Robert E. Lee, Confederate President Jefferson Davis or General Stonewall Jackson. That information comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center. 7Many of the schools were founded as all-white schools during the days of racial segregation. But now they also serve African American students. At least 12 now have majority Black student bodies. 8A new push has come to rename many of the schools as nationwide protests over police abuse and racial injustice have led to the removal of Confederate statues. Several school systems in Alabama, Texas and Virginia have voted to change school names in recent months, but local resistance and state laws make that no simple act. 9Lamb gained national attention for her letter to the Tyler, Texas, school board. She has since become a target of social media attacks with racist language and even threats of violence, her mother said. 10In Montgomery, Alabama, three high schools are named after Lee, Davis and Sidney Lanier, a writer who was a Confederate soldier. 11"It's a basic insult to all the African American children who would have to walk past a statue or go to a school that is named after a white supremacist," said Amerika Blair. She was among those pushing for the change. Blair attended Robert E. Lee High in Montgomery and completed her studies there in 2009. 12The Montgomery County School Board voted in July to change the names of the three schools. But a 2017 state law protects Confederate statues and other long-standing memorials and names. The school system will have to get special permission from a committee and the soonest it would get a decision is October. If denied, the school system must pay $25,000 for breaking the law by changing the name without permission. 13Like many other Confederate-named schools, Lee in Montgomery opened as an all-white school in 1955. That was one year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional. At that time, the South was actively fighting federal orders to integrate. But after integration became law, white people left some neighborhoods. So, a lot of the schools became heavily African American. 14A statue of Lee stood outside the school for many years - facing north to keep an eye on his enemies, school legend says. But in June, a group of people pushed the statue down. Four individuals were arrested but the charges were later dropped. 15Similar pushes to rename schools are taking place across the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center said about 40 schools have been renamed or closed in the past few years. 16In Virginia, the removal of Confederate names began in the state's northern cities and towns in 2018. That is when J.E.B. Stuart High in Falls Church changed to Justice High. Washington-Lee High School in Arlington changed its name to Washington-Liberty at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. 17The movement to change school names expanded outside northern Virginia as Black Lives Matter protests took hold after the police killing of George Floyd in May. For example, in Hanover County, a conservative area near Richmond, the school board voted narrowly to change the name of Lee-Davis High. 18Changing names is part of the move from one period in history to another, noted historian Wayne Flynt. He has written many history books on the American South. 19Flynt pointed out a connection between school names and inequity. He said the same beliefs that led to the Confederate school names also created education systems that often leave minority children in underfunded and failing schools. 20I'm Alice Bryant. 21The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 22_______________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24jersey - n. a loose shirt worn by a member of a sports team as part of a uniform 25reminder - n. something that causes you to remember or to think about something 26dungeon - n. a dark underground prison in a castle 27Confederate - n. a soldier, citizen, or supporter of the Confederacy during the American Civil War 28hashtag - n. a word or phrase that starts with the symbol # and that briefly indicates what a message is about 29segregation - n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races or religions separate from each other 30integration - n. the act of ending a policy that keeps people of different races apart in a place 31legend - n. a story from the past that is believed by many people but cannot be proved to be true 32underfunded - adj. not having enough money to do what is needed