Request to Restore Historic School Names
Coalition for Better SchoolsApr 03
Virginia School Board Votes to Restore Confederate Names
Image copyright: Alex Wroblewski/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
A Virginia school board voted for two public schools to revert to their original Confederate names early Friday.
The Shenandoah County School Board's 5-1 vote reverses the 2020 decision to change the name of Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School to Honey Run Elementary School.
The Spin
Right narrative
The push to restore the names of Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary is about respecting Virginia's history and honoring the democratic will of the community. For years, the legacies of Confederate icons have been tarnished by modernist historicism that ignores context and cultural significance. Moreover, the school board's rash 2020 decision ignored the will of the Shenandoah community, and the people deserve to have their voices heard.
Left narrative
America has been pushing to remove Confederate symbols for good reason — the treasonous and racist legacy of the Confederacy shouldn't be celebrated. Restoring the names and honoring the legacies of people like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson actively undo steps made toward achieving racial justice, and act as a slap in the face to the Black community. Symbols of the Confederacy are symbols of bigotry, and those who support them are motivated by hate and ignorance.
Nerd narrative
There's a 47% chance that the Confederate monument on Stone Mountain will be defaced or destroyed before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.