NAACP Branch: Strip Virginia Schools of Confederate Names
A local branch of the NAACP is calling for two Virginia schools bearing the names of Confederate leaders to be renamed.
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — A local branch of the NAACP is calling for two Virginia schools to be stripped of Confederate leaders' names.
Local news media outlets report that the Hampton branch of the NAACP and other local groups held a rally Sunday to support the name change at the Jefferson Davis Middle School. They also want a new name for the Campus at Lee, which is named after Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The violent Aug. 12 white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville has prompted calls across the country to remove monuments to Confederate icons.
Hampton NAACP President Gaylene Kanoyton read the Hampton School Division policy, which says schools should be named for people who "have rendered outstanding service to mankind, their community, state and/or country." She says the Davis and Lee don't fit that criteria.
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Tags: Virginia
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