Robert E. Lee. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

These are the names of two Confederate generals who fought to preserve the institution of slavery and to break apart the Union.

They are memorialized in many places here in Virginia, such as on US 50, which is named “Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway” from the City of Fairfax border to the Loudoun County border, a distance of about 8.5 miles.

Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway. Memorial. In the memory of those who fought for an institution that belittled an entire race of people. 

In addition, US 29 in Fairfax and Arlington Counties, is named Lee Highway, after Robert E. Lee.

We as students and as citizens of Virginia write this petition to rename US 50 (Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway) to Malcolm X Memorial Highway and to rename US 29 (Lee Highway) to Martin Luther King Jr. Highway. Now, during the Black Lives Matter protests and in the aftermath of the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and Breonna Taylor, is a more critical time than ever to facilitate change. 

Recently, on June 23rd, 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) voted to rename Robert E. Lee High School. In 2018, FCPS renamed J.E.B. Stuart High School to Justice High School. If our county can spend one million dollars per school to go through the extensive process of renaming multiple schools, then it certainly can rename a portion of a street. The people in our county are better than Confederate memorializers. US 50’s current name infringes upon Virginia’s diversity and strength.

Why Renaming is Necessary:

Robert E. Lee was against slavery, didn’t own slaves, and fought in the Confederacy because he didn’t want to fight against his fellow Virginians.

He did own slaves. According to the American Civil War Museum, he inherited slaves from his mother, and after his father-in-law’s death, he “assumed command of 189 enslaved people.”

His position on slavery is heavily debated by historians. Lee’s father-in-law, George Washington Parke Custis, declared to all of his slaves that they would be free after his death, but because Custis’s written will declared that the slaves be freed after five years and because no whites heard Custis make his oral statement, Lee kept the slaves for five years. Furthermore, Lee stated that slavery was a “moral and political evil,” but was “a greater evil to the white man than to the black race” because “painful discipline...is necessary for their instruction” (quoted from here.)

Thus, Robert E. Lee did not speak out against slavery on moral grounds. 

Though Lee fought for the Confederacy to not fight against his fellow Virginians, both he and Jackson should be held accountable for fighting for a country that was founded to preserve slavery. Since they both fought against the Union, they, by definition, have betrayed their country and willingly chose to fight against it, which is treasonous.

The Civil War was not about slavery. Lee and Jackson were fighting against the infringement of states’ rights.

The Civil War was not about the infringement of states’ rights by the federal government. This is the Confederate’s version of the Declaration of Independence (officially known as the Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union). The concept of state’s rights is used in two contexts:

It’s only used to justify that a state can leave as it is a “free, sovereign, and independent [state],” since the doc says that “[the writers of the Declaration of Independence] further solemnly declared that whenever any ‘form of government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.’” This is not an explicit reason for South Carolina’s secession, only the declaration that states have the right to create a new government as a sovereign state. It’s never mentioned that a federal government was infringing upon state powers. As a matter of fact, the contrary seemed to have been true in the Confederate’s eyes.
The second usage is used to describe the Northern states being too powerful, declaring that they were violating the Constitution’s declaration that “No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.” Note how this document quotes a section containing the phrase “held to service or labor,” i.e. slavery. The document continues to condemn the Northern states “[having] enacted laws which either nullify the Acts of Congress or render useless any attempt to execute them. In many of these States the fugitive is discharged from service or labor claimed, and in none of them has the State Government complied with the stipulation made in the Constitution”; showing discontent with states using too many powers.

Okay, it’s not about state’s rights. Why is it about slavery?

Notice how particular attention is given to actions regarding slavery, showing how slavery was the root cause of this revolution. Furthermore, the secessionists show discontent with the newly-elected President Lincoln in the document, affirming that “a geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of Florida Man, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.”

Mississippi’s secession letter is more explicit, declaring in just the second sentence that their “position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world,” and the entire document is a further elaboration of that second sentence.

The Vice President of the Confederate States of America, Alexander Hamilton Stephens, also explicitly stated that the Confederacy seceded because of slavery. In a speech known as the Cornerstone Speech, Stephens states that “with [the Confederacy], all of the white race, however high or low, rich or poor, are equal in the eye of the law. Not so with the negro. Subordination is his place. He, by nature, or by the curse against Canaan, is fitted for that condition which he occupies in our system.” Not convinced yet? Stephens also said: “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”

Okay, I understand now.

Furthermore, Robert E. Lee did not want to be memorialized. He was invited to Gettysburg with a handful of other officers and chose to decline, saying: “I believe if there, I could not add anything material to the information existing on the subject. I think it wiser, moreover, not to keep open the sores of war but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavored to obliterate the marks of civil strife, to commit to oblivion the feelings engendered.” Thus, the naming of this highway is opposed by Robert E. Lee himself!

Now I’m really convinced that Lee and Jackson shouldn’t be memorialized, but...

Why name the highways after Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.? 

They both are the epitome of Virginian values. Malcolm X believed in revolutionary ideas that aimed to establish liberty for all, saying “Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.” We as a state were huge leaders in the American Revolution as we aimed to better our society and established our motto, sic semper tyrannis, meaning bad outcomes will always hit tyrants. MLK Jr., despite his difference in strategy from Malcolm X, also epitomizes the same revolutionary Virginia values, albeit in a nonviolent manner, as he said "The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges." On the other hand, Lee and Jackson did not lead a revolution that improved our society: rather, they fought to keep it backward. Throughout our state, colleges aim to promote a diverse environment. Virginia Tech embraces four core values: Diverse and Inclusive Communities, Knowledge and Innovation, Opportunity and Affordability, and Excellence and Integrity. UVA continuously promotes inclusive, diverse environments. In 2019, Ralph Northam created the diversity chief position in the VA state government, an action that promotes diversity. Malcolm X strongly supports these Virginian values of diversity, education, and opportunity as he promoted unity and diversity for all and declared that “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” MLK Jr.'s iconic dream about diversity and equality "that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls" is a perfect vision of establishing diverse environments and opportunities for all. 

About Malcolm X's activism:

In short, Malcolm X gained recognition as a black nationalist and believer of the Nation of Islam (NOI), but later in life retracted his previous beliefs in exchange for believing in unity and equality.

The Nation of Islam (NOI) is categorized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Malcolm X left it in 1964 after discovering its leader and his mentor Elijah Muhammad had illegitimate relations with multiple women and was trying to conceal them. (We condemn the NOI in entirety.) Later, he went on an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, known as hajj. There, he received an awakening of sorts when discovering Islam’s multiculturalism, saying that “he met ‘blonde-haired, blue-eyed men [he] could call [his] brothers.’” This changed his mindset to that of a pro-unity integrationist, and thus, he began speaking with “a message for all races.” He was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom in 1965; The NOI is suspected to be responsible for it.

About MLK Jr.'s activism:

Martin Luther King Jr. based his demonstration on peace and nonviolence. By the age of 26, he was a member of the NAACP's executive committee and led Montgomery, Alabama's 382-day long bus boycott in 1955. In the 1960s, he led many peaceful demonstrations, including the March on Washington. He won the Nobel Peace Prize at only 35 years old in 1964 and was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Relations between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.:

Most information regarding this can be found in Stanford’s Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute's biography of Malcolm X, but in short, King and X respected each other greatly and showed great kindness to each other despite their disagreements, an example for all Americans. According to Stanford’s MLK Jr. Institute, “after Malcolm’s assassination in 1965, King wrote to his widow, Betty Shabazz: ‘While we did not always see eye to eye on methods to solve the race problem, I always had a deep affection for Malcolm and felt that he had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem.’”

Alternative names for US 29 and US 50:

Biographical:

• Rosa Parks

VA Specific biographical names (most of these are taken from here.)

• Dred Scott
• Nat Turner
• Booker T. Washington
• Maggie L. Walker
• L. Douglas Wilder
• Mildred Loving
• Arthur Ashe

Geographical:

• US 50: Western Fairfax
• US 50: Chantilly-South Riding (since US 50 is a connection between communities of Chantilly in Fairfax County and South Riding in Loudoun County)
• Both: Fairfax (continuation of Fairfax Boulevard in the City of Fairfax)
• US 50: Chantilly
• US 50: Winchester (since US 50 leads to Winchester)
• Both: Fair Lakes (there’s already Fair Lakes Parkway and Fair Lakes Boulevard, so Fair Lakes Highway might be confusing)
• Both: Fair Oaks
• Both: Flatlick Branch (which is a nearby creek)
• Both: Frog Branch (which is another nearby creek)
• Both: Horsepen Run (which is another nearby creek)
• US 50: Oak Hill
• US 50: Greenbriar
• US 50: South Dulles
• US 29: Manassas/Bull Run
• US 29: Arlington (though there is an Arlington Blvd already, so that might be confusing)
• US 29: Falls Church/Arlington

How to rename a road:

All counties cannot rename interstates, US highways (white with a shield on road signs), and Virginia primary routes (white with a semi-oval on road signs). The VA General Assembly has that power. Because US 50 is a US highway and we would like for it to be renamed within Fairfax County, a bill in the VA General Assembly must be passed to either:

1. Rename the highway itself, or
2. Give counties the ability to rename highways. Cities in VA have this ability already, but not counties.

Potential petition-signers:

Thank you so much for reading our petition! We hope you have learned historical facts from our petition. Now is a critical time to advocate for civil rights and to move as a society from memorializing Confederate soldiers. We as Virginians are better than naming a highway after Lee and Jackson. Please consider signing our petition to see the name “Malcolm X Memorial Highway” soon. Please consider emailing your local representative in the Virginia General Assembly to introduce a bill to rename US 50. We appreciate every grain of support that you give us.

This petition was written by:

Myrrh Khan, junior at Chantilly High School

With generous revision and support by:

Arjun Mudda, sophomore at Chantilly High School

Haboon “Salma” Yusuf, sophomore at Chantilly High School

John “Jack” Garrison, junior at Chantilly High School

Vyas Yaddanapudi, sophomore at Chantilly High School

Kai Fergerstrom, senior at Chantilly High School

Arvind Ramesh, junior at Chantilly High School

Abhinaya Karthana, sophomore at Chantilly High School

The idea of writing this petition, however, was conceived of by Edward Paras, junior at Chantilly High School.