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May 10, 2024

Virginia School Board Votes to Restore Confederate Names to 2 Schools
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In Virginia, the Shenandoah County School Board voted to restore the
former names of two elementary schools to honor Confederate leaders. In
2020, the school board stripped the names of Stonewall Jackson, Robert
E. Lee and Turner Ashby from the schools' names amid the Black Lives
Matter uprising following the police killing of George Floyd. The 5-1
vote comes after a campaign by right-wing group Coalition for Better
Schools. Ahead of the vote, community members and students addressed the
board, including 8th grader Alea Ogle.

Alea Ogle: "I'm a Black student, and if the names are restored, I would
have to represent a man that fought for my ancestors to be slaves. That
makes me feel like I'm disrespecting my ancestors and going against what
my family and I believe."



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