Virginia School that Once was Named After a Confederate General will Now be Named After Barack Obama

Out goes another Confederate general and in comes #BarackObama. A Virginia elementary school is switching its name honoring a Confederate general to the name of our forever president, Mr. Obama. The Richmond School Board in Virginia made the announcement on Monday (June 8), after an 8 – 1 vote to rename the school formerly known as J.E.B. Stuart Elementary.

The process began at the start of 2018 when parents, students and school officials submitted names of their interest. Some of the names listed civil rights activists and political figures. The reason the board decided to search for a new name was because the school’s population is 95 percent Black, which reflects the irreverence in having a Confederate leader as the face of a school that educates predominately Black students.

The School Board’s representative for the 3rd District, Kenya Gibson, wants the new name to represent the amazing talent and leaders within the town. “This is Richmond and we are about history and we have so many great local stories to tell,” Kenya Gibson told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Our local stories are so important to cherish.”

Barack Obama will always be beloved and remembered in the education field – literally because there are already 17 other schools named after him. Some of the states that have named a school after Obama are Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, California and Texas.