Board Decides To Reinstate the Confederate Names to Schools

(PatriotPostNews.com) – In 2020, the Shenandoah School board in Virginia voted to remove Confederate statues, symbols and art from public spaces.

As a result, Stonewall Jackson High School was re-christened Mountain View High School, and Ashby-Lee Elementary School was renamed Honey Run Elementary School. The decision to remove Confederate iconography from public spaces came as a response to the George Floyd riots that broke out during the summer of 2020. Proponents of the removal described the decision as “racial justice.”

On Friday, May 10th, the Shenandoah. The County School Board voted 5 to 1 in favor of reinstating the original names of two schools. Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary will be returned to Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School.

In a letter sent to the school board, the Coalition for Better Schools asserted that reinstating the original names honors the heritage of the community. The school board will not be using any taxpayer dollars to restore the schools to their original titles. The board is seeking private donations to fund the project.

Shenandoah County is not alone. In March 2024, three appellate court judges in Alamance County, South Carolina, ruled that Confederate statues should be allowed to remain. The court asserted that the removal would violate state law. In 2015, the state passed a law preventing the removal of any “object of remembrance” from public property. The law states that memorials can be moved to a new location, but that they cannot be removed or destroyed. In spite of the law, from 2017 through 2020, rioters tore down multiple Confederate monuments across the state.

South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and Florida observe Confederate Memorial Day as a way to preserve southern heritage. The holiday, like Memorial Day, remembers those soldiers who fell while fighting to defend their homes. While Virginia does not observe Confederate Memorial Day, the state makes a point to remember its Confederate soldiers on Memorial Day.