Posted on June 19, 2018

Richmond School Drops Confederate Name in Favor of Barack Obama

Madison Park, CNN, June 19, 2018

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On Monday, the Richmond school board voted to rename J.E.B. Stuart Elementary as Barack Obama Elementary School, reported CNN affiliate WTVR.

Members of the school’s community submitted ideas for a new name and students at the Richmond school, which is 95% African-American according to WTVR, voted among seven choices. {snip}

Last year, a school board in Mississippi dropped the name Jefferson Davis, for the president of the Confederacy, in favor of naming an elementary school after America’s 44th president.

Also on Monday, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, school board voted to rename Columbus and Chouteau elementary schools, but delayed the vote on what to call another elementary school that is named for Confederate general Robert E. Lee, reported CNN affiliate KRJH.

Columbus Elementary, named for the now-controversial 15th century explorer, will become Dolores Huerta Elementary, named after the activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with Cesar Chavez.

Chouteau Elementary, named for trader and purported slave owner Jean-Pierre Chouteau, according to CNN affiliate KTUL, will become Wayman Tisdale Fine Arts Academy, named for a local basketball star who became an NBA player and later a successful jazz musician before his death in 2009.

The Tulsa school board approved a change for Robert E. Lee Elementary, but will decide on a new name at its next meeting in August, CNN affiliate KJRH reported.

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