Robert E. Lee high school in Virginia gets a name change: It's now John R. Lewis

Robert E. Lee high school in Virginia gets a name change: It's now John R. Lewis
ELINOR ASPEGREN | USA TODAY

The eleventh largest school district in the U.S. has renamed a high school formerly known as Robert E. Lee High School after late civil rights icon John Lewis.

Fairfax County's school board voted Thursday to rename the school after the late U.S. congressman. The new name, John R. Lewis High School, goes into effect this school year.

Representative Tamara Derenak Kaufax, who is a boardmember for where the school is located in Springfield, near Washington, D.C., proposed a resolution to remove the Confederate general's name from the school in February.

Several board members clapped and cheered when the unanimous vote was announced.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...virginia-robert-e-lee-high-school/5498267002/

I wonder if those same board members clap and cheer when the school’s academic rankings are divulged?

Robert E Lee High School
Public · 9-12
3/10 GreatSchools

RANKING
Washington, DC Metro Ar… #129 (2020)
Virginia High Schools.......... #192 (2020)
Fairfax County Public Sch.… #24 (2020)
National Rankings............. #8459 (2020)

Hopefully a new name will bring that craphole school to at least national averages. What’s really pathetic is the 3 out of 10 rating from GreatSchools.

https://www.bing.com/fd/ls/GLinkPin...y93d3cuZ3JlYXRzY2hvb2xzLm9yZy9nay9yYXRpbmdzLw

 

Obviously the name of the school is the reason.

 

The Democrat party needs a name change, given their close ties to slavery.

The name itself still brings back memories.

Former sitting congressman with KKK ties.

The name change needs to happen. If not, its racist.

 

I have a few questions. Does changing names of places or tearing down statues actually solve anything? Do people get better grades with a name change of their school? Does tearing down statues solve criminal behavior? Banning certain "offensive" words solve poverty?

Pretty sure that the answer for all of those questions is "no".

 

Robert E Lee was a slave owner, who frequently broke up the slave families selling them off to other plantations. Of all the horrors of Slavery, this act by Robert E Lee was heartless and cruel. He was a vile man whose history should shun. The whitewashing of this terrible human is astounding

He should have hung from the hangman's noose for treason, instead, he got a heroes' treatment.

He fought to keep his father in laws slaves after his death. If there ever was a need for reparations, the Lee surviving family members should pay and pay dearly.

 

Kudos to the board members, definitely the right call.

 

If the answer to those questions is "no," then the flip side of the coin must be considered? Does it hurt anything? Do people get worse grades with the name change? Does keeping the statutes reduce criminal behavior? Does permitting certain offensive words make poverty better?

And if you can, honestly, realize that the answer to those questions are also, "No," then we are left with deciding whether making these types of adjustments is still a net benefit to society because they are the types of changes that the modern society demands even if the tangible benefits are nominal.

 

That was my underlying point. How dare the Fairfax, VA school board name a continually failing school after a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. What right do they have relating a school with years of substandard academic expectations to a 33 year congressman that led the Selma to Montgomery March back in 1965? That’s simply degrading.

Now, let’s just see how the students and community react to this. Are math proficiency scores going to raise from the pitiful 62% that the school currently displays? Is the 3 out of 10 score that GreatSchools handed down going to change? My guess is absolutely not, because the changing of a school name does not even come close to addressing the prime problem of minority single parent households. Racism has nothing to do with the lack of values.

 

Report Card
Fairfax, VA School Board

Adapting to societal pressures..................A+
Striving to better students.........................F
Leadership for scholastic excellence........F
Preparing students for college/life............F

 

Hell yes it hurts something. It hurts the legacy of a man that defied racism and was one of the most affluential voices and demonstrators for Civil Rights. There will come a day when people hear the name John Lewis High School and only think of another inner city failing school.

You want to relate this to something. Look at all the MLK Blvds in this country. They are all lined with drug infested murderous gang members. Honestly, how many people in this forum ever patronize a business on the Martin Luther King Blvd in their city?

 

There is no benefit. Doesn't matter if society demands it. It's going to offend some, and make others feel temporarily better. It all evens out. There are no benefits because it doesn't solve anything. The underlying problems are still there. Removing statues or changing names is not going to solve racism in the slightest. People are going to be racist anyways. Be they white, black, brown or purple.

You want to get rid of racism? Educate people. Want to reduce poverty? Educate people. Want to reduce violent crime? Educate people. Don't educate people with propaganda either. Left or Right. Also instill positive values in children. Instill self responsibility in children. And instill family values, because it is a fact that a two parent home succeeds far better than single parent homes.

 

Very well said

 

Why is it the Right Call?

Mind you I don't actually care that they changed the name. As my previous posts show, it doesn't change a thing.

 

I would be willing to bet that over 90% of the students had no clue who Robert E Lee was until the George Floyd protest/riots, because that would require reading their history books.

 

John R Lewis is someone that should be celebrated with the honor of having a school named after them whereas Robert E Lee is someone who should be not have that honor.

 

There is no dumber argument than the reparations argument. I bet your ancestors at one time or another committed crimes. Should you be punished for them? That's your argument and it's absurd.

 

No one said you can’t protest.

 

Good post, except for the part about punishing descendents for his crimes.

 

Yea, and Carroll Shelby is someone that has a car named after him. It’s a high performance Mustang and not a Yugo. Congressman Lewis should have a successful school named after him. You know, a successful school with a 98% graduation rate, a successful school with a 95% reading and math proficiency rate, a successful school with a 10/10 GreatSchools rating, and not some non caring teacher piece of crap institution.

 

Its not about my protest, it's about doing what is right.

Being dismissive is racist. I would think we would all join together to end the suffering and repressed memories of ancestors past that that word invokes.

But I guess not. Sounds like something a racist would say.

This shouldn't even be a debate, really. Its common decency.

 

You are casting aspersions without facts

 

Maybe it’s not as serious to others as it is to you.

 

Weird how the left insist on their heroes names on the biggest failures. Check out Obama High School in Milwaukee. 1/10. On a positive note, they were murder free during the Covid Lockdown.... so theres that....




Seriously if you can graduate from this school to the prison system without getting killed first, it is a real achievement.

 

Very weird how you are still obsessing over Obama.

 

So why is it that the Republican party is the one fighting to keep those names on buildings, military installations, statues and monuments.