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Judge Rules Two Virginia Schools Must Change Confederate Names
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- A federal judge ordered a Virginia school board to remove the names of three Confederate officers—Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby—from two schools, ruling the board violated the civil rights of Black students.
- Judge Michael F. Urbanski stated that renaming the schools after these Confederate generals is inherently linked to racial discrimination, as these figures fought to preserve slavery and their legacy was used to oppose school desegregation.
- The decision follows the Shenandoah County School Board's 2021 reversal of its 2020 removal of the Confederate names, which had occurred amid nationwide protests over racial injustice.
- The ruling reflects ongoing tensions over Confederate symbols, which saw renewed scrutiny after the 2020 killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, though some such symbols were reinstated during President Trump's second term.
