Happy Juneteenth! Virginia School Named After Confederate Leader Will Be Renamed After Barack Obama
Richmond, Virginia, once served as the capital city of the Confederacy. After the Civil War, only one school was named after a Confederate general. Now, the school board of the city has voted to nix the current name and instead rename the school of the United States' first and only Black president.
On Monday, the Richmond School Board voted 6-1 to rename J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School to Barack Obama Elementary School, reported WHSV.
The only person who voted no was Kenya Gibson, who suggested the board take more time to review the top three choices, suggested by students.
The top three possible names were: Northside, Barack Obama, and Wishtree.
For months, the school board members discussed renaming the school, which honored Confederate cavalry commander and a slave-owner J.E.B. Stuart.
When RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras recommended the school be renamed after Obama, not everyone was immediately on board.
"Maybe what you should do is name it after a place or something more relevant so that you don't offend anybody," Cindy Anderson, an RPS parent, suggested.
However, School Board members hope this name will promote more inclusion within the community.
News of the school name change was met by elation
Some even hope other schools will follow
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