NAACP, students suing names of restored Confederate schools in Virginia

The Virginia chapter of the NAACP and a group of five students plan to file a lawsuit against the Shenandoah County School Board after it approved a proposal to rename two public schools named after Confederate military leaders.

The process, first reported by NBC Newsis the latest development in an ongoing battle over Mountain View High and Honey Run Elementary, originally called Stonewall Jackson High School, and Ashby Lee Elementary School.

“My belief is that the Shenandoah County School Board has reaffirmed its commitment to white supremacy and the celebration of a race-based rebellion against the United States of America with its vote to name public schools after leaders military of the Confederate States of America,” Rev. Cozy Bailey, chapter president, said in a statement.

“When students walk the halls of the renamed Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby Lee Elementary School, they will do so with inescapable reminders of the Confederate legacies that enslaved and discriminated against those of African descent. This community deserves better,” he added.

The two schools were renamed in 2020 after racial justice advocates across the country urged the institutions to change building names and remove statues honoring Confederate figures.

But critics of the school name changes argued that the name change was hasty and undemocratic. Attempts to restore schools’ Confederate names have persisted ever since.

In April, the local conservative group Coalition for Better Schools once again brought the issue to the community. On aLetterthe organization argued that the two generals’ legacies are complex but important to the community.

In a vote on the morning of May 10, the six-person board decided to reinstate the names.

Now, the NAACP and students argue that the board created “an illegal and discriminatory educational environment for students of color.”

More than 5,600 students attend Shenandoah County public schools, according to the state Department of Education. About 75% of these students are white, 18% are Hispanic and 3% are black.

The lawsuit alleges that by restoring Confederate names, the board violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story