An elementary school in Jackson named for the president of the Confederacy will be renamed after the nation’s first black president next year.
Davis IB Elementary School PTA president Janelle Jefferson told the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees at a meeting Tuesday night that the community voted to change the school’s name to Barack Obama Magnet IB Elementary School.
In September, the board approved a policy that gave the PTA and community the option to rename Jefferson Davis, George and Lee elementary schools. Davis is named after Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.
The current board policy on naming schools states they must be named “for persons of good character and prominence who have made outstanding contributions to the school system,” and a “facility named to honor a person shall not be renamed except for compelling reasons.”
The school is apparently about 96% black so of course attending a school named after the man who fought to keep their ancestors as slaves probably did not all that feel great.
Of course Mississippi is still a very racist state, so I predict there will be some substantial protests when the new sign with Obama's name is first erected.
Source http://ift.tt/2yv9utT
