WOODSTOCK, Va. (AP) — A Virginia school board voted Friday to restore the names of Confederate military leaders to a high school and an elementary school, four years after the names had been removed.
Shenandoah County's school board voted 5-1 to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School, and Honey Run Elementary as Ashby Lee Elementary.
Friday's vote reverses a decision by the school board in 2020, a time when school systems across the South were removing Confederate names from schools in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
School board members who voted to restore the Confederate names said the previous board ignored popular sentiment and due process when the names were stripped.
Elections in 2023 significantly changed the school board's makeup.
Board member Gloria Carlineo said during a six-hour meeting that began Thursday night that opponents of the Confederate names should “stop bringing racism and prejudice into everything” because it “detracts from true cases of racism.”
The lone board member to vote against restoring the Confederate names, Kyle Gutshall, said he respects both sides of the debate but believed that a majority of residents in his district wanted to leave the Mountain View and Honey Run names in place.
“I don't judge anybody or look down on anybody for the decision they're making,” he said. “It's a complex issue.”
Gaylene Kanoyton, the President of the Hampton NAACP branch, shared the following statement with us about the board's decision:
"In 2017, the Hampton NAACP, alongside other advocates, successfully campaigned for the renaming of two Confederate-named schools. Following public demand, the Hampton City School Board took decisive action in 2018, renaming two schools, and in 2021, they further renamed five Confederate-named schools. Renaming schools is often a crucial step towards fostering inclusivity and reflecting evolving societal values.
It is profoundly alarming and utterly unacceptable that the Shenandoah County School Board has now chosen to reinstate Confederate names after previously voting for their removal.
This decision is particularly abhorrent given the current social climate, marked by ongoing racial injustices exemplified by the murder of George Floyd four years ago, with the upcoming fourth commemoration of his death on May 25th. Such actions only perpetuate racism and bigotry, both in Virginia and across the nation. Is this a resurgence of Jim Crow-era policies in the 21st century?
We stand resolute in our commitment to combatting systemic racism and will vigorously advocate for inclusivity and equality in all facets of society. It is imperative that we remain steadfast and unwavering in our efforts to create a more just and equitable future for all."
Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson was a Confederate general from Virginia who gained fame at the First Battle of Bull Run near Manassas in 1861 and died in 1863 after he was shot in battle and had his arm amputated. Jackson's name was also removed from another high school in Virginia's Prince William County in 2020 that is now known as Unity Reed High School.
Turner Ashby was a Confederate cavalry officer who was killed in battle in 1862 near Harrisonburg, Virginia. A high school near Harrisonburg is also named for him. Robert E. Lee was a Virginia native who commanded Confederate forces.
The resolution approved Friday by the school board states that private donations will be used to pay for the name changes.
Shenandoah County is a largely rural jurisdiction with a population of about 45,000, roughly 100 miles west of the nation's capital.
