Pressure Mounts Against Schools' Confederate Ties

Published Online: September 22, 2015
Published in Print: September 23, 2015

... According to federal data, nearly 200 schools across the country bear names of Confederate leaders, including Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio. There, Kayla Wilson, an African-American senior, has been leading a campaign to force the school to change its name, which has been in place since 1958.

Earlier this summer, Kayla launched an online petition to rename the school, writing, "In the wake of the Charleston shooting that took the lives of nine African-Americans who were simply going to church, I can tell you that as a young black student, it's not easy or right to have to learn in a place that honors a man like Robert E. Lee" ...

Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, now the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, publicly supported Kayla's position, writing on Facebook that "North East ISD should call together a group of board members, students, and community members to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School. ... There are other, more appropriate individuals to honor and spotlight as role models for our young people" ...

In San Diego, the similarly named Robert E. Lee Elementary School spurred California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez to urge the district to change the school's name. In her letter to San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten, she wrote the "vibrant, multi-ethnic community with a strong African-American presence … deserves a school named after someone we can all admire. Robert E. Lee is not that person" ...

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/pressure-mounts-against-schools-confederate-names.html