General Dandridge McRae was a Confederate general and inspector general of the Arkansas State Troops. He was originally from Alabama but had relocated to the Searcy, Arkansas area. After the war ended in 1865, he became the head of the White County chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.

He, along with a man who later became Arkansas Secretary of State, Jacob Frolich, were indicted in 1868 for the murder of Albert Parker, who was sent by then-Governor Powell Clayton to investigate KKK activity in White County. Neither man was convicted but both fled White County, both to later return.

In these times where the issue of racial injustice needs to be rectified, one of the first things we can do is to end the practice of naming buildings after notorious racists, and a Confederate general who led a chapter of the KKK definitely fits the description of racist.

I call upon the city of Searcy and the Searcy Public Schools district to begin the process of renaming McRae Elementary and the street it operates on, West McRae Avenue. I will not be providing a name suggestion, as that should be at the discretion of the city and its voters, but what should be obvious is that glorifying historical racists has to come to an end.