Originally published at: Does Robert E. Lee High School have a racism problem? | Boing Boing
…
11 Likes
22 Likes
And while this is one of those “duh” stories, the lede is of course that there are hundreds if not thousands of schools that have similar approaches and attitudes, but might not have quite as “on the nose” names. So stories about stuff like this doesn’t hit the jackpot and make national news.
17 Likes
The Robert E Lee High School near me just changed their name to John R. Lewis High School. How many RE Lee schools are there in America?
28 Likes
One is too many.
29 Likes
God, that article just kept getting worse. WTF is wrong with people?
13 Likes
20 Likes
Lower Mississippi is on its bullshit again, I see. Grew up there so I can and will call it by its real name.
17 Likes
One less than there used to be, anyway
15 Likes
Apparently Betteridge’s law is suspended in cases where the question is ironic shock over the obvious.
14 Likes
It kinda puts me in mind of the efforts to track down the elusive Identity Killer.
There was one elementary school in Long Beach (CA) that was renamed Olivia Nieto Herrera Elementary School in 2016 or 2017. We used to live in the area prior to 2013 and thought it was bizarre and absolutely out-dated by 148 years. (It served then, and still serves today, a mostly Hispanic and Black student population.)
8 Likes
Our neighborhood public* elementary school (in New Orleans) which had an almost entirely Black student population was named Robert E. Lee, which was disgraceful. Thankfully the name was changed 15-20 years ago to Ronald McNair by the city. A fine choice that I’d like to recommend to the folks of Duval County
*New Orleans no longer has public schools but the school is still named McNair
26 Likes
Speaking of bullshit. Yes Florida has a racism problem, as does Mississippi, as does the rest of the country. Equating racism and Mississippi not only doesn’t help but hinders. How can people not see that shitting on the state with the largest Black population doesn’t actually help those discriminated against there (or elsewhere)?
11 Likes
So, who is a high school, because it looks like there are a few competing views here and we could call either of them the school. If we consider the school to be the administration and community members, yeah the school has a serious problem. But also in the story are a teacher and students fighting that problem. So where it stands relative to other schools is harder to say outside of the name.
8 Likes
Evergreen.
3 Likes
Fewer in Texas, with each passing day.
I have a friend who works here; we are glad the name got changed:
https://www.kxan.com/news/aisd-board-votes-to-rename-robert-e-lee-elementary-to-russell-lee/
It’s expensive for a school to change its name (stationery, uniforms, banking, web site, logo, anything with its name on it). U.S. public schools are not so well-funded, sad to say. So this school saved a bundle by changing its name but getting an acceptable namesake whose surname is [still] “Lee.”
The change was not without the now-common bad faith BSers who just can’t seem to evolve:
https://www.kxan.com/news/trump-hitler-among-nominations-to-rename-robert-e-lee-elementary/
Sometimes, Texans just prefer to somehow split the difference, and it’s unlovable but sucks less (marginally AFAICT):
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/misd-board-renames-robert-e-lee-to-legacy-high-school/ar-BB1a2CU2
Historic Moment: Tyler ISD board votes 7-0 to change names of John Tyler, Robert E. Lee high schools.
Wow, fantastic choices. Love them.
Completely upgrades.
11 Likes
What state are you in, out of curiosity.
1 Like
