A school district removed Confederate names from buildings. Now, they might put them back

A Virginia school board Thursday will reconsider – for the second time – a previous action to remove the names of Confederate leaders from two of its schools, putting a now years-old argument back in the spotlight.

In 2021, Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School in Virginia's Shenandoah County were renamed Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School. In 2022, the Coalition for Better Schools, a local conservative group, tried unsuccessfully to change the names back, but the school board deadlocked in a 3-3 vote at the time. The coalition is challenging the change again, stating in a letter to the Shenandoah County School Board the names "honor our community's heritage and respect the wishes of the majority."

"We appreciate your dedication to our schools and the well-being of our students," the coalition wrote. "Restoring these names would demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity, respect for history, and responsiveness to community feedback."

The group's letter stated Confederate Gens. Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, and Cmdr. Turner Ashby have historical connections to Virginia and the commonwealth's history. Several states, federal agencies and localities made similar moves to remove Confederate names, monuments and statues after a wave of protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Robert Watson, an assistant professor of history at Hampton University, a historically Black university in Virginia, said he can't recall another instance of a school reversing course after dropping its Confederate namesake. He said there have been efforts in Florida to restore names of some public buildings.

"If it does get traction in the Shenandoah Valley, it probably will get some traction and other places," he said.

Carole Emberton, a history professor at the University at Buffalo, also hasn't heard of a school trying to restore Confederate leaders' names. But she's not surprised.

"Despite the large public outcry against Confederate monuments in 2020, there’s still a lot of people who support the practice, or at least, don’t understand why it’s a problem," she told USA TODAY. "I see it all the time in the courses I teach, and most of my students are from NY state, so it’s not just a 'Southern thing,' either."

Shenandoah County School Board Chairman Dennis Barlow, who wasn't board chairman when the names were changed, said he expects a long public comment period before Thursday's vote. He didn't comment on his vote or that of other board members this time around. He said in previous meetings he'd like the Confederate names restored, according to district records.

The district changed the names in 2020 to condemn racism and promote the district's commitment to inclusion, according to minutes from the board's July 9, 2020, meeting. The vote to change the names passed 5-1. The board at the time also opted to change a middle school's mascot.

If all board members are present for Thursday's vote, a majority will be needed for the name change.

"If they want to tell their students today and future students, that it’s important to honor men who fought for an army and a would-be nation that was formed solely for the defense and preservation of slavery, then, by all means, restore the names," Emberton said.

School districts and politicians dropped Confederate names and monuments starting in 2020 in efforts to eliminate symbols of racism, a 2022 USA TODAY analysis found.

The Coalition for Better Schools said in its letter to the board a large majority support the effort to restore the schools' previous names, citing a survey it conducted in half of the district. Mike Scheibe, spokesperson for the Coalition for Better Schools, did not respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

Sarah Kohrs is a parent of two children in the district. She started a petition on April 17 urging the district to not change the schools' names back that garnered nearly 700 signatures. Watson said going back to the previous names would be a "setback."

"If the other side wants to restore historic names, that's fine if they want to do that," Kohrs told USA TODAY. "However, they have to recognize that in doing so, you're also claiming all the other heritage that goes with that. And that's not always a heritage that is happy for many people in our community."

Hundreds of schools across US have Confederate officials' names

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center's "Whose Heritage?" 2022 report, 201 schools bore the name of Confederate officials or supporters as of Jan. 20, 2022. It hasn't released an updated report.

Those Confederate leaders, Watson said, favored policies that kept Black people enslaved. He doesn't believe removing the names erases history. He said it's best, instead, to remember the history by speaking about the full context of the Civil War through slavery, Jim Crow laws and the Reconstruction era.

"Those kinds of incidents have given many people ideas, and made many people think, that we have a long ways to go, but we were making progress," he said.

Contributing: Alia Wong and Neena Hagen, USA TODAY; Reuters

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @KrystalRNurse.