Dallas Renaming Four Schools Named After Confederates
"If it was named for the single purpose of promoting white supremacy, then it should be changed.”
9.29.2017
22
With taking a knee taking over the news cycle, it's been a while since we were mad at the confederacy. Let's check in and see how that's going. The Dallas Independent School District has voted 9-0 to change the name of four local schools which were named after Confederates (Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, William Cabell, and Albert Sidney Johnston).
While the school board was unanimous, the community was not. "History is not going anywhere. History is in the history books," said Seth Laughlin, father of two students at Stonewall Jackson, WFAA Dallas reports. The board was much more divided on whether or not the schools could simply shorten their names, such as changing “Stonewall Jackson” to “Stonewall,” an option that was voted down by a margin of one vote.
New names have to be submitted by November and will be chosen by the local communities. Dallas ISD estimates the costs of rebranding the four schools to be about $150,000, which seems unlikely.
Chief of School Leadership Stephanie Elizalde said "If it was named for the single purpose of promoting white supremacy, then it should be changed.” When Lee Elementary was named in 1926, the Dallas Morning News said it was named “because of his education service to the South and because he represented the highest type of manhood.” So, that one is off the list if that's the criteria. Given the country's current statue-hating climate, it's probably safest for the kids in these schools if they go ahead and rename those with Confederate names anyway.
These four schools will be renamed, but is it likely that those who clamored for the name changes will be happy to end it here? Not likely. The school district is also “researching” Sam Houston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin and 17 other historical figures (after whom local schools are named) to determine if they have nefarious connections that would deem them unworthy of such an honor.
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