JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dozens of stakeholders made their way to Robert E. Lee High School Wednesday night for a public forum to discuss possibly changing the school’s name.
Lee is one of nine schools selected by the Duval County School Board for possible renaming.
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School board members have said the selected schools, several of which are named after Confederate leaders, are insensitive to Black and Indigenous students and communities.
Some called for the name to be changed at Lee’s Wednesday night forum, citing concerns about the legacy of the Confederate leader.
“I was raised by a white supremacist,” said speaker Rochelle Smith. “… They take great pleasure in knowing that they had the victory to name schools like this.”
Others demanded the school’s name remain the same.
“I don’t think it should be changed,” said former Lee Coach, Leon Barrett. “… Lee High School is a place that thinks about people. And not changing.”
Emotions ran high as a man speaking in favor of keeping the name was interrupted by a man in the audience.
“If he starts again, you’re gonna start me over!” said the interrupted speaker to the moderator.
The man who interjected was escorted out of the auditorium.
Lee student, Mykyla Hooper, says the school’s name stirs strong emotions.
“It’s like a wound that’s being opened still! And continuously going here every day just reminds me of that past history,” said Hooper.
Hooper is suggesting a name she feels would unite the school.
“Sankofa. Sankofa means, San, ‘to go,’ Ko, ‘back,’ and Fa, ‘get.’ Which means if we don’t understand our history, we’re always going to be bound to repeat it,” said Hooper.
Former Coach, Leon Barrett, had this message for people who say the Confederacy’s is cause for a name change.
“I would tell them just to, you know, you have to forgive and forget,” said Barrett. “You’ve got to forgive … The Lord says if you don’t forgive them, he’s not going to forgive you.”
Tonight’s meeting was one of several happening over the next few weeks.
Stakeholders will vote on the name changes in May.
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Prior to the meeting, groups including the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, Florida Rising, Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Live Church, Take Em Down Jax, Veterans For Peace, Women’s March, Black Lives Matter Jax, Duval Democratic Black Caucus, Indivisible Jax, and the ACLU, held a demonstration outside of Lee H.S.
“Time to end the horrible legacy of injustice hatred and inequality. We need to leave it behind us,” said Northside Coalition leader, Ben Frazier. “The time for school names to be changed is now. That’s why we say, stop playing games, change the names!”
The group’s joint statement:
“We enthusiastically support the school board’s decision and we are encouraging them to move forward with all deliberate speed. The board members should not retreat or back down from people who are still stuck in the past and still fighting the civil war!
Our “Time for change” partners have gathered nearly 15 thousand signatures on an online petition to “change the name of Robert E. Lee Highschool!”
These nine schools should be renamed because they honor men who sought to perpetuate Slavery, Racism, White Supremacy and Genocide Against Native Americans. We commend the school board for following the lead of the Mayor and the city council to remove confederate monuments and to rename a park after James Weldon Johnson. It’s now time to move forward in the sunlight of a new day by renaming these nine schools. Time to leave the legacy of injustice, hatred and inequality behind us; the time for school names to be changed is now.”
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