FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2020
Contact:
Gregg Kelley, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, [email protected], 202-319-1070
Today, the decades-long fight for equity and inclusivity, led by the Hanover County NAACP, has finally begun to be realized in Hanover County Public Schools. The Hanover County School Board took an important step by voting to change the names of Stonewall Jackson Middle School and Lee Davis High School. Members of the NAACP, including students and alumni of LDHS and SJMS and their families and community, have been urging the School Board to change the names for decades.
Robert Barnette, President of the Hanover County NAACP says, “The school names have been a symbol of inequality for the African American community. The decision by the School Board today was long overdue and a first step towards racial justice in Hanover County. We are encouraged that the Hanover County School Board made the right choice today.”
Now more than ever, it is clear that the discrimination endured by African American students is having very real and devastating consequences across this nation. This moment in history has highlighted the dangers of honoring a Confederate history that promoted the idea that Black people were not equal members of society. As our nation grapples with the racist history of the Confederacy, we’ve seen strides being made across the country and across industries to finally condemn Confederate values. Countless schools named after Confederate figures are being changed, NASCAR has banned Confederate flags from all of its sporting events, and Mississippi has taken the steps to retire its state flag featuring the Confederate battle flag. And, the VA Secretary of Education and Governor Ralph Northam have encouraged Virginia schools to remove symbols honoring the Confederacy from their schools because of the harm they cause to African American students.
Kaitlin Banner, Deputy Legal Director at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs says, “Black students in Hanover County have endured a hostile school environment that derives directly from the naming of the schools after Confederate generals and the celebration of the Confederacy and its defense of slavery. With today’s name change, the Hanover County School Board has taken an important step toward providing an equal education for all students.”
In Hanover County, the school names were chosen only after the Court ordered the school district to desegregate, and the names have been a symbol to Black students and families that they were not welcome in Hanover for the past sixty years. The name change will allow Black students to attend schools where they are not forced to honor Confederate generals that fought for the enslavement of human beings that looked like them.
Jason Raofield, Partner, Covington & Burling says, “Today the Hanover County School Board has decided to end the shameful, decades-long practice of forcing children who choose to participate in school sports and extracurricular activities to wear uniforms created for the express purpose of honoring the Confederacy and the leaders who fought to preserve slavery. The fact that dozens of schools around the country have ripped Confederate names from school buildings in the last 100 days proves that this is not a moment, it’s a movement. The movement is a testament to the voices of so many who have fought for so long to bring about this change. We are proud to stand with them at this important time in our nation’s history.”
The decision of the Hanover County School Board to change the names rights a long-standing wrong against Black families in Hanover County. It is our hope that this monumental victory is embraced by the entire community with open arms as Hanover County continues this process of reconciliation and healing.
###
ABOUT THE WASHINGTON LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE: Founded in 1968, The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic and social equity through litigation, client and public education and public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combatting and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression. For more information, please visit www.washlaw.org or call 202.319.1000. Follow us on Twitter at @WashLaw4CR.
ABOUT COVINGTON & BURLING: Covington & Burling is a preeminent international law firm with over 1,000 attorneys and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government. The firm has offices in Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai and Washington, DC, and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, helping clients to navigate issues at the intersection of law and policy around the world. Covington is committed to providing legal services to economically disadvantaged individuals and families. While many of Covington’s pro bono efforts are anchored in meeting important needs within its local communities, the firm also has a long history of serving clients and causes across the country on important civil rights matters, including juvenile justice, mental health, government-sanctioned discrimination and wrongful conviction matters.