AISD to Consider Ridding School Names of Confederate Legacy (TX)

[struggle4progress]

BY RICHARD WHITTAKER
FRI., NOV. 20, 2015

Austin Independent School District trustees could adopt a new policy for renaming campuses as early as Nov. 23. That's good news for advocates who want to wipe the Confederate legacy from school signs. Now comes the complex part: what to change those names to? ...

So far, of the four AISD campuses named after Confed­er­ate figures (Robert E. Lee Elementary, Sidney Lanier High, John H. Reagan High, and Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus), Teich noted that only one community has been vociferous in calling for change, and that's Lee. Community member Dave Junker has been part of that campaign, but stressed that coming up with a replacement title has not been their priority. However, staff is currently examining trustee inquiries as to whether the issue of renaming Lee could be taken up as early as the Nov. 23 meeting. If that happens, Junker said that various names have been spitballed, including artist Elisabet Ney; Great Depression photographer and UT instructor Russell Lee; and Wheeler's Grove, the original name for nearby Eastwoods Park and site of some of Austin's first Juneteenth celebrations. Then there's a suggestion to just call it Lee, to retain a link to the campus' past while still rejecting its namesake, much as when Johnston became Eastside. Junker said, "I think a lot of us could get behind that."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2015-11-20/aisd-to-consider-ridding-school-names-of-confederate-legacy/

[snappyturtle]

1. Austin ISD can join Princeton in a joint effort to remove American history....

then we won't need to be bothered remembering so much bad stuff.

[struggle4progress]

2. They have plenty of Texans they could name the school after:

Barbara Jordan comes to mind. So does Lonnie Smith, whose Supreme Court case ended the all-white primaries. There's Heman Sweatt, whose Supreme Court case ended segregation at the UT law school. Texas-born James Farmer Jr helped found CORE.