Dear Friends, You were one of the nearly 40,000 wonderful people who signed our petition on Change.org urging the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia to change the name of the high school honoring Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. Over three years ago, a group of students stood up and led the effort to change the school’s name to one that would make the school’s significant minority population and all students feel welcome. The great news is that your signature made a difference, as did the challenging work of the students, progressive alumni and others who joined this great initiative. As you know, this past fall the School Board voted to change the name to JUSTICE HIGH SCHOOL, in honor of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who lived nearby; early civil rights leader Barbara Rose Johns, and Col. Louis Mendez, a WW II hero whose children attended Stuart. The name change will become official this coming fall, at the official start of 2018-19 school year. However, school’s community is high-poverty and therefore lacks the financial means that many other schools in the county enjoy. In part, because the name change was controversial, the School Board action agreeing to the name change directed that a “substantial” amount of the funds needed for such a change should be raised privately. This is where you can help. If every one of you who signed the petition were to simply donate $10 right now, that amount, combined with what has already been raised, would pay for all the costs associated with this change (such as signage, uniforms, etc.). Would you please consider a $10 or perhaps a $20 donation? Here is a short, heartfelt video from former Congressman Tom Perriello and some of the students who led this initiative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiDqpTNQ6mk Tom is a former US congressman and diplomat who is on the forefront of progressive causes across Virginia. Tom and the students talk about our cause and explains how we still need your help. Please click on the link https://www.fcps.edu/justice to donate to JUSTICE HIGH SCHOOL. Thank you! Bruce Cohen ‘79