Midland ISD board votes to change high school name honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee

[TexasTowelie]

Midland ISD’s school board voted Monday night to change the name of its high school honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee, following suit with decisions made by other school districts across the state.

The board, according to KTSM-TV, voted 6-1 to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School which is located about 330 miles west of Dallas. The board also voted to create a citizen’s committee, made up of students, parents and alumni, which will present recommended name changes to Midland ISD Superintendent Orlando Riddick.

“Voting to change the name was not an effort to erase history; instead remembering history is what caused us to change the name of the school that was so named in 1960 in a misguided attempt to honor such history at that particular time in our history,” Midland ISD school board president Rick Davis said in a statement, per KTSM-TV.

“But this decision was much more than simply righting a past wrong concerning the name of a high school. It was also about moving forward to reflect the character of our remarkable community.”

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2020/07/28/midland-isd-board-votes-to-change-high-school-name-honoring-confederate-general-robert-e-lee/

[Boxerfan]

1. I went to Robert H Goddard middle school- Midland Tx.

Last edited Tue Jul 28, 2020, 05:57 PM - Edit history (1)

He was a rocket pioneer IIRC. So they didn't name all the schools after southern traitors.


I had just transferred from a over achieving school in the SF Bay Area. Because it was fairly advanced my grades were C average or lower.
The Texas school put me in the 'slow" classes and frankly I wish I had stayed there. I got put in the "normal" classes after about a month.The normal class was full of jerks.
The 'slow" class was almost all black kids & they were not dumb at all. I went to hang out after school- across the tracks.

I got a lecture about what crowds to hang with from my A-hole father on the way back. To me they were way cooler than the other guys not rodeo jerks.
Just an observation from long ago.

[Paladin]

2. I'm proud of Midland for doing this.

It's an isolated, big-money, hyper-conservative community. This is progress.

[KatyMan]

3. Our local school district

Only names schools after the local area they are in or former ISD employees who made great contributions to the ISD. Maybe this should be more common.

[MarcA]

4. Wouldn't be surprised if they name it after Bush (sr or jr). n/t