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Federal judge allows NAACP lawsuit over Confederate school names to proceed
THE BULLETIN
Federal judge allows NAACP lawsuit over Confederate school names to proceed
BY: NATHANIEL CLINE - JANUARY 24, 2025 4:17 PM
The battle over Confederate school names in Shenandoah County is moving forward in court after a federal judge on Friday denied the school board’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Virginia NAACP and five students.
The lawsuit alleges the board “reaffirmed discrimination” last year when it voted to restore Confederate names to two schools, reversing a 2020 decision by a previous board to rename Mountain View High School to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary to Ashby-Lee Elementary, honoring Confederate Gens. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Turner Ashby, and Robert E. Lee.
The complaint before the U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg alleges that the school board violated the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act. The NAACP seeks to remove the Confederate names, mascots, and vestiges and prevent any future school naming involving Confederate leaders or references to the Confederacy.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski cited the need to explore the allegations of racial discrimination. “Discovery is necessary to ascertain whether the plaintiff’s plausible allegations of an EEOA violation are borne out by the evidence,” he wrote. … Urbanski also noted that the Confederate names may infringe on students’ constitutional rights, pointing to the use of names like “Stonewall Jackson Generals” on team uniforms as potentially discriminatory speech.
{snip}
NATHANIEL CLINE
Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who's been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at The Loudoun Times-Mirror and The Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat. Five things he must have before leaving home: his cellphone, Black Panther water bottle, hand sanitizer, wedding ring and Philadelphia Eagles keychain.
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
MORE FROM AUTHOR
Federal judge allows NAACP lawsuit over Confederate school names to proceed
BY: NATHANIEL CLINE - JANUARY 24, 2025 4:17 PM
The battle over Confederate school names in Shenandoah County is moving forward in court after a federal judge on Friday denied the school board’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Virginia NAACP and five students.
The lawsuit alleges the board “reaffirmed discrimination” last year when it voted to restore Confederate names to two schools, reversing a 2020 decision by a previous board to rename Mountain View High School to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary to Ashby-Lee Elementary, honoring Confederate Gens. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Turner Ashby, and Robert E. Lee.
The complaint before the U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg alleges that the school board violated the U.S. Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Educational Opportunity Act. The NAACP seeks to remove the Confederate names, mascots, and vestiges and prevent any future school naming involving Confederate leaders or references to the Confederacy.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski cited the need to explore the allegations of racial discrimination. “Discovery is necessary to ascertain whether the plaintiff’s plausible allegations of an EEOA violation are borne out by the evidence,” he wrote. … Urbanski also noted that the Confederate names may infringe on students’ constitutional rights, pointing to the use of names like “Stonewall Jackson Generals” on team uniforms as potentially discriminatory speech.
{snip}
NATHANIEL CLINE
Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who's been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at The Loudoun Times-Mirror and The Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat. Five things he must have before leaving home: his cellphone, Black Panther water bottle, hand sanitizer, wedding ring and Philadelphia Eagles keychain.
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
MORE FROM AUTHOR