SPRINGFIELD, Va, (WDVM)– Fairfax County school board unanimously voted to rename Robert E. Lee high school.
The Fairfax County Board of Education voted Tuesday to rename the high school. Fairfax officials said the renaming process has been delayed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However in light of social justice demonstrations nationwide, they began to move quickly following a public hearing from students.
Officials said the potential new name could be either John Lewis, Georgia’s U.S Representative, Barack Obama, Mildred Loving, Cezar Chavez, or Central Springfield.
One FCPS official said, “Students should be made to feel valued and respected, and they need to be taught a history that reflects the true history of our country. This is important because if we do not teach the true history of our country we’re at risk of repeating the ills of our past.”
School officials said this means that every African American child that comes into FCPS schools should never have to be upset due to the name that is on their high school diploma cover.
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