The majority of speakers at a special meeting of the Spotsylvania School Board supported changing the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School.
The meeting Wednesday was the first of two events scheduled by the board to gather public input on whether the name should be changed.
Wednesday's meeting was a forum to which board members invited two members of the public from their districts to share thoughts on the issue. Board members were able to ask questions of each speaker and share their own thoughts.
Next week, the board will hold a public hearing on the matter. Any member of the community can come and speak to board members, who will be there to listen only.
All but two of the speakers Wednesday said they believe the board should rename Robert E. Lee Elementary.
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"How does this name help our students and how does it hurt our students?" questioned Milton Muldrow, a parent of multiple children who have attended Lee Elementary over the years.
Muldrow, who is Black, said that once his children learned that Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general, they came home and asked him why his name was on their school. The conversation was always painful, he said.
"So he fought to keep a system that would enslave someone like me?" Muldrow, who was invited to speak at the meeting by School Board Chair Baron Braswell, recalled his children asking.
"I’m obviously a Black father, but for those of you who aren’t, put yourself in my shoes," he continued. "What would you say? Or do you care? I think we should give a darn what other people are going through. Let's care about our neighbors. The moment this name is removed from the school, this will be a better county."
Justinus Jackson III, a senior at Spotsylvania High School, said he is "an example" of the current student body, which is diverse, as is the county as a whole, and keeping Lee's name on a public school doesn't reflect the county as it is.
"Where is the empathy, the idea of understanding and respecting someone in other circumstances or shoes?" asked Jackson, who was invited to speak by Livingston District representative Kirk Twigg. "Some of us in this room here will never understand the systemic racism that those who sit next to us will face.
"We’re a community that is diverse. We say we are 'Spotsy strong.' I believe [changing the name] will be an example showing we are a unified community."
Kelly Punderson, who was invited to speak by Salem District representative Lorita Daniels, said she doesn't buy the argument that removing the name would be "erasing history," because there is "plenty" in Spotsylvania County to teach residents and visitors about the Civil War, should they chose to seek it out.
She said Lee Elementary, which was built and named in the early 1950s, was one of numerous schools and public buildings throughout the South that were named for Confederate generals and leaders during that time.
"Is it coincidence that this happened right as the talk about [integrating schools] began?" Punderson said. "This was a power move meant to send a message that the status quo of white supremacy was to be maintained."
Punderson also read a quote from Lee himself, who after the Civil War stressed his opposition to erecting monuments to the Confederate cause.
"I think it wiser,” Lee wrote in 1869 about a proposed Gettysburg memorial, "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.”
Dana Hockaday and Dennis Buchanen, both invited to speak by Berkeley District representative Erin Grampp, were the only two speakers out of 14 who said they oppose changing the name.
Hockaday said Lee was a Christian and a loyal Virginian who served honorably in the U.S. Army, prior to leading the Confederate Army, and as president of what was then Washington College in Lexington.
"If we look at the accomplishments of this man and his contributions to the army and education, I don't see a reason we have to change the name," she said.
Hockaday said the drive to remove Lee's name is an example of applying "current ideals" to the past and that children who say they are uncomfortable about attending a school that bears his name are being taught "to be victims."
She also questioned the cost to taxpayers of changing the name.
Buchanen said the school's age gives it historic value and that its name is "just a name on a building."
"If you change the name, as long as it's been Robert E. Lee Elementary, it will continue to be known as Robert E. Lee Elementary," he said.
Twigg repeatedly asked the invited speakers if they would apply the same pressure to change the name of Lee Elementary to changing the name of county roads and other buildings named for Confederate leaders. He also asked whether the speakers would like to see a county-wide ballot referendum on changing the name.
Braswell responded that the school is the property of the School Board, which has sole authority over renaming it, and that a ballot referendum is not an option.
The public hearing on renaming the school will be held on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Spotsylvania County Public Schools administrative building at 8020 River Stone Drive, Fredericksburg, VA 22407.
Members of the community can speak in person or submit written comments, though written comments will not be read aloud at the meeting.