Whew, so we're back.

The rally for the support of the name changes of both JEB Stuart and RE Lee High Schools garnered an incredible amount of support. With these being high schools represented by largely known Confederates, it's easy to understand how the name of Lanier Middle School can be overlooked. According to Sidney Lanier's Google profile, he "was an American musician, poet, and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private and worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned." The school even goes so far as to quote his poem citing his participation as a Confederate in the Civil War.

I feel the need to highlight that he served in the Confederate States Army... and if it wasn't obvious, it's evident that Fairfax County doesn't (or at least shouldn't) allow for the memorialization of Confederate soldiers in its schools, on its schools, or anywhere around schools. Sidney Lanier fought on the wrong side of history, and we should remember this through the name change of Sidney Lanier Middle School. Your signatures helped to get my high school, John R. Lewis High School, changed from its egregious name, and so now I urge you to take action to ensure these middle schoolers don't have to go through the same things we did to change our name. Stop encouraging the education of glorifying white supremacy through signing this petition right now.