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What might a schools name mean to a child?

When a child attends a high school they are wearing the name of their school on their clothing. They are playing on sports teams to represent a school whose students are united under the same name. They are making memories of friendships and seeking acceptance. Their young minds, easily influenced, are representing their school with pride. Where a child attends high school becomes a part of their identity.

What does it mean to a child who says, “I attend Robert E. Lee High school?”

It teaches children that even though Lee lost the war and freedom prevailed, his desire to continue Black suppression and slavery should be honored. That hatred is what really conquers.

It teaches that although Black people are freed from slavery, they must still remain caged within the bars of a confederate culture.

This school title teaches children that a man who fought AGAINST human rights should be celebrated.

To those who don’t ponder the name, it teaches the acceptance and normalization of a community that honors the hatred of Black families. 

To those who feel he represents bravery and courage, representing this school means to honor a man who didn’t have the strength to change for the sake of humanity. A man who was so weak he led a civil war to avoid confronting the hatred within his own heart. It means fight for what you believe in even when it is fundamentally wrong.

By attending Robert E. Lee, students are receiving an education from an institution that glorifies an man who lacked true intelligence.

In 1865 he wrote a letter to his wife containing a passage that reads, “The Blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa, morally, socially & physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing, is necessary for their instruction as a race, & I hope will prepare & lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known & ordered by a wise Merciful Providence.”

The principles of racism were so deeply rooted within Robert E. Lee that he believed slavery was in fact a blessing given from God himself, so that Black people might evolve as a race worthy of existence.

Proper education would expose students to the grave damages caused by white colonization across the continent of Africa, over the glorification of Western European history.

Proper education would provide resources and critical thinking exercises focused on how to combat racism within our communities and within our hearts.

Qualified educational leaders would not stand for the continuation of white supremacy as a staple in American curriculum and the face of an educational institution.

We strongly request the immediate change of the name of Robert E. Lee High School. We request the title to represent a human being or cause worth embracing as part of our identification as students and as members of Fairfax County. This is not a change that can wait any longer.