School Boards and the Fragility of Progress

By DON ROLLINS

“When you read about [Stonewall Jackson] — who he was, what he stood for, his character, his loyalty, his leadership, how Godly a man he was — those standards that he had were much higher than any leadership of the school system in 2020.” — Tom Streett, board member, Shenandoah (VA) County Public Schools

Although the first recorded shot of the American civil war was fired in South Carolina, it was Virginia that witnessed by far the most bloodshed. Fully 123 of the 384 battles were fought there — three times the number staged in Tennessee, second on the list of states laid low by a brutal war.

Given this scale, Virginia’s suffering has gone as deep as any of the former Confederate states. The lingering effects of slavery are especially visceral when vista after vista, town after town bears a memorial to the mostly Southern dead.

But the last shots of the war were barely fired when the veneration of “Lost Cause” heroes became the norm, if not patriotic duty in many parts of the South, Virginia included.

Influential White leaders spearheaded efforts to name (or rename) streets, libraries and courthouses for military and political leaders that were in reality insurgents defending an inhumane, not “peculiar” institution.

Organized during the Reconstruction era, Virginia’s nascent (Whites only) public school system was not spared the rush to glorify the rebel faithful and fallen. White locals could, and did name their new buildings after whomever they wanted.

As with every other state in Lincoln’s salvaged union, history matters in Virginia. That history came alive in mid-May when the rural school district school board in Shenandoah County voted 5-1 to restore the names of Confederate generals to two of its buildings.

Previously named after generals Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Asby, the high and elementary schools were renamed Mountain View High and Honey Run Elementary in 2020 as part of a widespread racial reconciliation following the murder of George Floyd while in police custody.

Although resistance was high in the 95% White county, the subsequent board voted in a tie when the measure came before them. The names remained as they were. The board’s center held, and their supporters cautiously rejoiced.

But after nearly two years of organized efforts to restore Jackson, Lee and Ashby to their racist glory, White locals have once again exercised their power to name school buildings after whomever they want.

A pro forma meeting preceded the actual vote, with supporters of the restoration citing chillingly familiar reasons for their position. The 2020 name changes have: divided the community, been implemented despite majority opinion, and undercut the importance of teaching children about their “heritage.” It was a clear win, transparent and likely lasting.

While Shenandoah Public may the first district to officially take such steps, there are an estimated 190 schools across 19 states that still bear the names of Confederate figures and prominent sympathizers. There’s no telling where all those school boards fall on the scale of change/no change, much less how many may be headed toward Shenandoah Public’s fall from grace.

What we do know is bigotry and ignorance are by no means confined to a single state, nor the province of a single school board. Progress in public education is slow, progress in public education is exhausting. Worst of all, that progress is fragile.

Don Rollins is a retired Unitarian Universalist minister in Jackson, Ohio. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, June 15, 2024

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