In Virginia, the Shenandoah County School Board voted to restore the former names of two elementary schools to honor Confederate leaders. In 2020, the school board stripped the names of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby from the schools’ names amid the Black Lives Matter uprising following the police killing of George Floyd. The 5-1 vote comes after a campaign by right-wing group Coalition for Better Schools. Ahead of the vote, community members and students addressed the board, including 8th grader Alea Ogle.
Alea Ogle: “I’m a Black student, and if the names are restored, I would have to represent a man that fought for my ancestors to be slaves. That makes me feel like I’m disrespecting my ancestors and going against what my family and I believe.”