In a recent development, the Shenandoah County education board in Virginia has decided to reinstate the original Confederate-related names of two public schools.
This decision, made in the early hours of Friday, overturns the previous one from 2020 that had led to the renaming of these schools. The board's decision was almost unanimous, with a 5-1 vote in favor of the restoration. Board Vice Chairman Kyle Gutshall was the sole dissenting voice.
The schools in question, Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School, will revert to their original names of Stonewall Jackson High and Ashby Lee Elementary respectively, as reported by WHSV3.
The decision was witnessed by over 500 people via a YouTube livestream. Prior to the vote, a public hearing was held at Peter Muhlenberg Middle School on Thursday to discuss the proposal. During this hearing, board members expressed their belief that the 2020 decision to change the names was rushed.
Gloria Carlineo, a member of the school board, criticized the previous board's actions, stating, This was not an innocent mistake by some inexperienced school board. No, this was a carefully choreographed advance of a school board [colluding] to ignore the people they represented.
The public hearing saw a significant turnout, with attendees expressing their views vocally, either in support or opposition to the proposal.
One resident, opposing the restoration, argued, If you vote to restore the name Stonewall Jackson in 2024, you will be resurrecting an act in 1959 that is forever rooted in mass resistance and Jim Crow segregation.
This decision by the Shenandoah County education board contradicts a broader trend of schools distancing themselves from names associated with the South during the Civil War era and other Confederate heritage, which many link to racism and slavery. This trend was largely triggered by the 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd. According to a report from Reuters, over 60 schools have since discarded their Confederate names.
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