The past few years have seen a resurgence in condemning reappraisals of flags, statues and other memorials honoring the more famous members of the Confederate States of America. Statues across the Southern United States have especially received the brunt of this criticism, as have those who have cricitized, or called for these statues’ removal. However, buildings and public institutions named for the heroes of the Confederacy and the Civil War (on the Southern side) have also received similar criticism — like the Davis IB Elementary School in Jackson, Mississippi.
According to Mississippi Today, the magnet school named after Jefferson Davis, the senator who became the first President of the Confederate States of America, has decided to change its name. The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees in September approved a measure allowing the Parent Teacher Association and the community to decide whether or not the school’s name should be changed. On Tuesday, PTA President Janelle Jefferson revealed the community had spoken, saying the school’s new name would be that of President Barack Obama.
“Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him,” she said. While the change won’t go into effect until the 2018-2019 school year, however, Jefferson explained they had reached out to the student body to see what they thought about the name change, and whose name they would prefer. They overwhelmingly chose Obama. “We really wanted to know what they thought,” she said. “They could relate to Barack Obama because of his achievements, because he looks like them.”
(Via Mississippi Today)