FCPS School Board Public Hearing 6-22-20

001Good afternoon. Welcome to the public hearing on the Lee High School renaming. On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. This hearing is being live streamed at fcps.edu backslash tv backslash ch99. We have 123 registered speakers who will address the board at this public hearing. Each speaker is allotted three minutes and we ask that you stay within that time limit. The timer will start when you begin to speak and the timer will sound at the conclusion of your three minutes. When your name is called, please unmute your microphone and begin speaking. Please mute your microphone at the end of your three minutes. First, I want to call on our State Representative, Kimberly Boateng, to share her comments. Good afternoon esteemed school

002board. I'm a very recognizable face with this board, but I want to make sure that everyone knows that I'm not here as a student rep, but rather as a student that attends Robert E. Lee High School, has been a part of the Lee family for six years, and will graduate from Lee High School next year. This past year, I've been comparatively quiet about my specific and personal stance on the naming of Robert E. Lee High School because I believe much like the sitting board and the previous board, I was afraid to garner negative words or negative ideas from people I was representing. However, as someone who has to explain time and time again that my school is not our name, it is absolutely ridiculous that I even have to do this. I won't sit here

003and speak on the same arguments that I've stated time and time again during this past year, but rather I want to stand here and speak with true distinction that this is absolutely nothing that should be debated. There'll be people here that are on the right side of history and people who are on the wrong side of history, and there'll be people who try to hide behind money and heritage in order to keep an offensive name still stated on our schools. As a student that goes to Lee, we hardly ever get any limelight. No one really cares about whatever funding or resources we get until it's time to argue against the right thing to do. People claim heritage, but in all honesty, the Confederacy was only together for about five years, and I was in elementary

004school for longer than that. The name is, in all honesty, an embarrassment to the many students that attend Lee High School. the 80% minority population that goes to that school every day. The choice here is very obvious to me, but I just want to make sure that it's pretty clear that if somehow and for some reason the name Robert E. Lee is not changed by my commencement next year, I don't think I'll be able to accept my diploma. I will not have one of my biggest accomplishments, graduating from high school in a system that was not built for me and continues to have systems in place that still make it difficult for me to succeed, be marred by the name of an old Confederate general. the very people that fought for the continuation of slavery,

005bigotry, black suffering, and the dehumanization of people like me. The Confederate flag symbolizes hate and treacherous behavior, and we cannot hold on to the American flag and continue to hold on to the Confederacy. We all must remember that the people who wore the Confederate flag were not the people who wore the American flag, and Confederates killed soldiers on the battlefield that stood by the American flag. one cannot claim patriotism and continue to hold on to this filth. We deserve better and we need to do better. And there'll be people in this public hearing, I believe, who aren't from the Lee community, who do not know our students, but will continue to push to keep the name still standing on our school building. And it's absolutely unacceptable and there's no reason to continue to do so.

006Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Boateng. I now call on Jamison McIntyre, Luna Alazar. I know Ms. Alizar has logged in. Yes. Hello. I'm Luna Alizar, and I'm back, and I'm not happy. We are still discussing whether or not we should change the name. This is ridiculous. I'm upset. I'm infuriated. I'm a graduating senior, and this is what I have to look at. So how can my proudest achievement haunt me so much? How can you take everything I've worked for and label it with such dishonor? I'm disgusted when I see the name Robert E. Lee all over my school. But now I have to live with seeing this on my proudest accomplishment all my life. Robert E. Lee supported a government that supported slavery. Robert E. Lee inherited slaves. Wait, I don't think you heard me

007right. Robert E. Lee supported a government that supported slavery. Robert E. Lee inherited slaves. Why am I here? Why am I still fighting for a name change? And those statements are facts. Lee High School is one of the most diverse schools in the county. However, we are labeled with a name that doesn't represent us at all. I'm angry because I should not be fighting for something that should have been done years ago. My high school is my safe place from all the hate behind the doors and in the real world. It would swear I was artistically creative. The name changes everything for me. It silences me. It weakens me. It makes me feel worthless because it reminds me that my school would never see my color to be special. If they did, they would understand

008the fear, hate, and terror behind those who were Confederate generals. If they did see my color as special, they wouldn't allow any form of racism to take part at my school. However, the name of my school is named after a racist leader. Not only that, his morals are just hung up in the main lobby. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, please take this time to understand your diverse students and their perspectives. Take this time to really listen to us rather than silence us. Take this time to care for the students that make up FCPS. Take this time to encourage and honor the minorities who give you the praise of calling this county one of the most diverse in the country. Now take this time to make change. Lastly, I want to mention how

009graduating seniors from FCPS are being restricted from saying Black Lives Matter in their graduation speeches. I thought FCPS had no room for racism. However, you're silencing students who are using this special day, their graduation, to recognize those lives that were lost. You say you want to remain neutral, but you're just taking the side of the oppressor. You're refusing to let us honor the lives who would have been graduating beside us. Dr. Brabrand, I don't need another speech on your support for diverse students. I need action, proof that you truly do support us. School board members, we need you more than ever. Please, please don't fail us. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Al-Azhar. Kelly Bonilla-Guzman. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Kelly William Guzman, and I'm a rising senior at Haplet Secondary School, and I'm here

010to speak in favor of renaming of Robert E. Lee High School. I actually want to share a poem that I've written in the past in hopes of conveying a message that I'm kind of struggling to find words for. The white man, the white privilege, the white American dream. Things that were not worked for, but granted, inherited, solely on the basis of the white man's skin. The white man is fearful. Fearful that a person of color will grieve them of the opportunities they believe they're entitled to. Fearful that a person of color will take their job. Fearful that a person of color will lead to their demise. Fearful that a person of color will force them to face their past. Fearful that a person of color will expose their ancestors' mistakes. Fearful that a person of

011color will depict them as the antagonist in the story of this so-called great nation you call America. Fearful. But the white man is only doing what he's taught. A cycle of systematic oppression erupts, a volcano of racism, its fire, red lava flowing uncontrollably, the heat, the flames, its scorching effects, it flows into my mouth, it burns my tongue, it flows to my body, it overflows into society, in the media, in the workplace, on the sidewalk, as the white man, by default, waits for the person of color to move out of their way, waits for the person of color to accommodate, waits for the person of color to assimilate subconsciously, forcing them to comply with the white man's rule. The white man was born without prejudice, but American society taught the white man to view those

012who are different differently. This cycle is not only seen in the white man, it is seen as I, a person of color, writes in fear of the white man. Fearful that the white man will bereave me of the opportunities I believe I deserve. Fearful that the white man will destroy my culture. Fearful that the white man will erase my language. Fearful that the white man will suppress my voice. Fearful that the white man will oppress my existence. Fearful that the white man is always working against me. Fearful that the white man will read this and dismiss it due to the difference in the color of our skin. Now, I know those that are in favor of renaming the school don't necessarily think they're in the wrong. They believe they're restoring history and they believe a

013name can't possibly hold such negative attitudes. Like stated in my poem, the white man is only doing what he was taught. But it's time we correct those teachings. It's time we correct our past. It's time we change and work towards a better future. And I can't imagine a future in which FCPS continues to glorify these Confederate leaders and keep the name of Robert E. Lee High School. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Guzman. Katia Ismael. My name's Khadijah. Oh, I apologize, Khadijah. Hello all and thank you so much to Kimberly, Luna, Kelly and all of the students taking the initiative to speak today and again to the county for allowing me this platform. I spoke last Thursday about the injustices faced in our country and how we can take steps to solve this as a community

014and as a school system. The name change of Lee High School stands as one of those one of these changes to move ourselves from the silence that the school system has found themselves in and move towards progressiveness and anti-racism. From my experience as a student at Robert E. Lee High School, our school exudes culture and diversity. Walking into our school gives you a vibe unlike any other school I've ever been in. The irony and juxtaposition of the name representing the school stands for itself, but with that, I have a little story. In my freshman year, I took part in my school's marching band's tag day, where basically we go around our community and ask for donations and support for the local school's marching band. While we were able to get valiant support from alumni and

015community members, my partner and I approached this woman. She was a very nice woman, but what she said intrigued me. She was willing to donate to our program, but right before she did, she asked the name of our high school. Upon saying the name of a Union and American traitor, a white man with twisted beliefs, a memorialized Confederate general, she decided to withhold her money while saying, and I quote, change the school name, then we'll talk. I refused to put my money to a school, hailing a horrific past. One of the points to refute the name change is the statement that the school should put that money towards more productive and beneficial means such as supplies and education material. This reputation proves to be largely detrimental and controversial as high school has Title I leaders

016that could benefit from the money. So why can't this money go to the school regardless? Why is it that the point is only brought up when it benefits certain taxpayers? I ask that you taxpayers that carry this belief do better. only mentioning the title of an underrepresented and underfunded school when they see fit is detrimental to these communities. Ms. Ismail, I'm sorry. We have to keep within the three minutes. Has it been three minutes? Yes. Did you hear the ringing? No. I'm sorry. If you can just wrap up very quickly. Okay. We just ask that you stand with us in changing the name of our school so that our school can better represent our student body and give us the opportunity to rewrite and update our history. Thank you so much. Thank you. Sarah Faith

017Mukuna. Yes. Hello, everybody. Good afternoon. I would just like to echo the comments that my fellow students have made, as I'm also a rising senior at Lee High School, and I feel as though it is long overdue to change the name of our school. I feel like the fact that we are still having this argument just proves that not only the school district, but the Lee High School community does not care about the feelings of minority students. And the fact that the money issue is only brought up when talking about the regaming of the school shows that the issue is not the issue is not the monetary funds, it's the fact that we still have people who believe that Robert E. Lee should be memorialized and glorified within our community. I feel as though I

018personally do not want to graduate from Robert E. Lee High School. Like my fellow students have said, graduating from high school is an accomplishment that would be one of the biggest of my entire life, and I refuse to have it tainted by graduating from a school named after such a terrible man. So I feel as though... It should not be an argument anymore as to whether or not we should be changing the school name. We should be looking at the cold hard facts that Robert E. Lee fought for the Confederacy and that he supported slaves and that if anyone truly wants to move forward, not only as a school district, but as a country, we should start by dememorializing these people who did terrible things to Black people and other minorities. Thank you. Thank you.

019Vivian Ho. Good afternoon everyone. My name is Vivian Ho and I am a rising senior at Robert E. Lee High School. As a student and an active member of our school and community, I'm calling for the name changing of our school. Although it is important to remember our history, it is never justifiable to glorify slavery and our Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee. For example, our governor, Ralph Northam, has taken this action. to combat racism by announcing the removal of Robert E. Lee's statue from Richmond. He has said, that statue has been there for a long time. It was wrong then and it's wrong now. So we're taking it down. These are monuments of inequality, sexism, our commonwealth in this country. It is undeniable that Robert E. Lee is a symbol of oppression. In

020the past few years, Americans have demanded the removal of Confederate monuments and the renaming of schools honoring these Confederate generals due to white supremacist violence connected to these symbols. Since the June 2015 murder of nine black congregants of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and the fatal white supremacist riots in Sharkville, Virginia in August 2017. At least 37 schools have reported name changes and seven schools in Virginia have as well. How does all this relate to Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Virginia? According to the Southern Poverty Law Center or SPLC in 1954, after Brown versus Borchardt education. declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional. Schools in the South, as well as non-Confederate states, embraced Confederate symbols. After the Civil Rights Movement ended in 1968, our school was renamed from Lee to Robert

021E. Lee a couple years later to purposely symbolize the era of white resistance to equality. It is obvious that this name change was used as a symbol of hate towards black people and other marginalized groups. Now in 2020, after the cold blooded murders have occurred recently due to white supremacy and police brutality, has pushed me to learn more about the systemic racism, sorry, systemic racism that takes place in our country and more specifically Fairfax County. As a way to start our redemptions and combat racism in Fairfax County, we must not honor and memorial the racism of Confederacy. We must not gloat about our diversity, yet ignore the voices in our own community. We must promote anti-racism, and that begins with the name changing of Barber Ely High School. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ho. Ms.

022Ismail, apparently the ringing was not our traditional ringer. That was somebody else in the audience having their ring. Would you like to add anything more to your comments? I can give you another minute. Okay, we're going to go ahead and proceed. Mr. Flores, Kevin Flores. Okay, we'll go on. Amoru Vufana Dukore, speaker number eight. Speaker number nine, Amrita Singh. Hello, hi. Hello. Okay. Hello everyone. My name is I'm a rising senior at Robert Ely High School, and I'm here to discuss why I believe it is crucial to change the name of my school. Keeping the name Robert Ely High School suggests that one of the wealthiest and most equipped school systems in the country or in the county or in the country are okay with memorializing and glorifying racial oppression and white supremacy, allowing racist

023symbols to influence their students. Having confederate ideals glorified in our own county makes individuals uncomfortable and directly targets African Americans that were oppressed by Confederate leaders such as Robert E. Lee. Other school systems and counties as well as our own school system has identified that when realizing Confederate leaders and being in support of racism is wrong and needs to be action taken for better change such as changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School. As an active member of my community and a student that is generally involved in a variety of different communities and organizations, I myself have faced many instances of embarrassment and guilt when telling people I go to a school named after a Confederate general. Understanding that many individuals have a negative response towards the name of the school I go

024to, I find myself trying to avoid the embarrassment of saying the name and try to avoid bringing up the conversation as a whole so I can avoid saying the words, I go to Robert Ely High School. Being embarrassed of the name is something that saddens me deeply because there are many reasons I am immensely proud to go to Lee. And I believe having the privilege to attend this school has allowed me to have an amazing high school experience and most importantly, gain a deep respect and appreciation for other cultures that is invaluable. With this being said, I would like the name of the school I attend to be changed that represents the amazing and beautiful community and the... invaluable experience this school has to offer so myself and my peers can be proud of the

025name of the school that we go to additionally the name robert e lee will be attached to our diploma which is something that we would not be proud of and it's something that definitely needs to be changed so the whole community can be represented in a much better way thank you isabelle quintana Hi, good afternoon. My name is Ismael Quintana, and I'm a rising senior at Thomas A. Edison High School. This is going to be a continuation of Khadijah Ismail's. Why is it that this point is only brought up when it benefits certain taxpayers? I ask that you taxpayers that carry this belief do better. Only mentioning the title of an unrepresented and underfunded school when they see fit is detrimental to these communities. And I will say that if you only care when the

026name change is brought up, I ask you to do this as favor and not care at all. Our school has, will, and forever thrive off the diversity, cultural representation, and opportunity, and continue to build and uplift each other. We just ask that you stand with us in changing the name of our school so that our school can better represent our student body and give us the opportunity to rewrite and uplift our history. This is my personal saying is that representation is one of the most important things in this country because without it, we don't have any power. The name Robert E. Lee High School does not represent the students who attend. I don't attend the school and I know that. I see the different cultures, the different ethnicities, and how beautiful they are. And this

027name does not represent them at all. It actually diminishes them. It makes them feel small. And that should never be accepted. Thank you very much. Kylie Callender. Hi. So good afternoon. My name is Kylie Callender and I am a rising junior at Lee High School. I believe that the name should be changed because both Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stewart High School were named because of Fairfax County's anti-integration beliefs at the time of their creation. Now that Jeb Stewart has been renamed to Justice, it is time for Lee High School to do the same and show that the hate in our past does not define us. It would also look bad if Jeb Stewart was renamed and Lee was not. I have also heard some talk online by older generations that Lee was not named

028after the Confederate general. But if that were true, why is his portrait hanging in our lobby? I walk past it every single day and am reminded of the awful things he and the Confederacy stood for. And there's not something that the students and staff of Lee stand for or will ever stand for. I hope you decide to change the name of my school. Thank you for your time and consideration. Stratus Bowley. Okay, all right then. Wonderful. Can you see me and hear me? Yes, we can. Go ahead. All right, perfect. Thank you. So I'll be honest. The entire discussion that we're having today is just a way so the county can just say that we had a discussion with the public. The county has already made their vote and has already decided effectively. So we

029can get past that discussion. So what I would like to argue for... is for the renaming of Lee to, well, Lee, but with a different name, Bruce Lee. I believe we should make it Bruce Lee High School. Whatever at the school still says Lee. And we can also rename the mascot and the team names of Robert Lee High School to Bruce Lee High School's Dragons for Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. I believe that doing this, we can save some mice so we can also say... not how I put this, make people who are not happy about this issue because of money fine with it. And also because that way we can get rid of the name with someone who advocated for equality of peoples considering Bruce Lee was noted for his racial justice protests and

030all that in the 1960s before his death. Thank you. Oh, actually, no, I have one more statement. If we're going to rename Robert E. Lee High School, I believe we should also rename James Madison High School, John Marshall High School, and Thomas Edison High School for their racist behaviors in John Marshall owning slaves, James Madison towards his treatment of the Indians in the West during his actions as president, and Thomas Edison's actions as an anti-Semite. Thank you. Joseph Dodson. Okay. Hello, my name is Joe Dodson, and I'm a rising senior at TJ, and I fully support renaming Lee. Glorifying Confederate generals is offensive to FCPS's Black students, and especially Lee's Black students. We should not have to debate whether to rename a building that honors a racist. There should be no reason necessary to rename

031Lee beyond the fact that he was a racist who fought for slavery. History belongs in a museum, not on a school building that is supposed to serve all students equally. Further, I challenge those who say we must remember history, since most of the statues of Confederate generals, in addition to facilities being named after them, happened long after the Civil War. If we supposedly need to glorify devout racists in order to remember them, why were these things done immediately after the Civil War? The reason is that descendants of Confederate leaders and people who fought for the Confederacy set out to rewrite history, claiming that the Civil War was a battle over culture and states' rights, when we all know it was based on slavery. So no, history does not apply in this case. When minority communities

032are crying out for change and to finally be recognized as equal, we must listen. So today, I stand with minority students across FCPS in calling for the renaming of Lee. Thank you. Amanda Hurst. Hello. My name is Amanda Hurst. I'm a student at Lee High School and I'm currently the class president of the class of 2022. So I would first like to acknowledge the numerous comments from the March community feedback meeting and since then on other social media apps like Nextdoor that suggests that FCPS should focus its attention on better resources for Lee High School rather than costs associated with renaming. It was awesome to see so many people who are seemingly concerned over the lack of resources at my school. And I am sure I speak for everyone who goes to Lee when we

033say that we welcome your donation to our PTA. We look forward to hearing from you. So, but I am in complete disagreement with suggestions at our school named after the leader of the failed Confederate movement. to continue to be burdened with this name. Others will speak more eloquently than I on Robert E. Lee's support of the Confederacy's efforts to keep African Americans enslaved. As a white student at Lee, I cannot pretend to know how it feels to walk a day in the shoes of students of color and black students at my school. But I can stand up as an ally to my fellow students now. and as a witness to the shared shame of this name. I can tell you that every morning as we arrive to school, every single student at Lee is greeted

034with signage bearing the name of Robert E. Lee. Each day, the last thing we see as we exit our school is a glorified portrait of Robert E. Lee in the main foyer. Our student body, which is among the most diverse in Fairfax County, must bear his name on our school spirit t-shirts, athletic uniforms, and official correspondence, and just a little salt in the wound. To the final insult of it all, his name is symbolized on the last document we received from our school, our diplomas. Renaming Lee High School is not erasing history. His name will live through our textbooks and history studies. In fact, we hope that FCPS takes further steps to reroute the curriculum surrounding Robert E. Lee. Sure, he was a proud Virginian, but to the extent he would fight to tear this

035country apart, for human beings to be enslaved. He should not be glorified and given the honor of having my school's name attached to its colorful and diverse student body. We should not be demeaned with a forced and direct association with someone who defended and fought for the enslavement of African Americans. Thank you. Andrea Grace Mucuna. Amal Ghesi. Speaker number 16. Can you see me? We can. Welcome. Hi. So my name is Amal Ghesi, and I'm the graduating class senator of Robert E. Lee High School. So, going to a school where the first thing you see when you walk in is the portrait of Robert E. Lee is so heartbreaking, especially since the demographic of Lee is majority people of color. The Wikipedia page states that about 79% of Lee are minorities, so why the hesitation

036to get rid of someone who would have hated us? How do we commemorate a man who wouldn't have even condoned the environment that we're in today? How do you praise a man that would have reduced me to my skin color and dig at me as nothing more than someone who's expendable? FCPS loves to preach how they are for black students and students of color, but regarding how long it's taken and the fact that getting it changes even in question, it says a lot. Did you guys know that our high school was renamed Robert E. Lee in the 1960s in spite of the Civil Rights Movement? It wasn't originally named Robert E. Lee High School. Do you know how much of a slap in the face that is? Do you know how backwards that is? This

037has gone on way too long. If FCPS is really for us, then make this change. Also, adding on to what Luna said earlier, Superintendent Brand posted a two-minute clip saying that FCPS would not be silent anymore and wouldn't silence the students, but did exactly that. I made my graduation quote. I said, I dedicate this to the countless Black lives who were killed due to police violence. Tamir Rice should have graduated with us. Tamir Rice was a 12-year-old boy who was shot because he had a toy gun in his hand. There's been no justice for his murderers. I said, Tamir Rice, you should have graduated with us. FCPS said they had to stay neutral in the public eye. However, at South County a few years back, students made their senior quote, make America great again. You

038picked where to stay neutral and when not to. Please begin to practice what you preach. Saying something versus actually doing something is so different. graduating from a school, especially one that I've been so involved in, that commemorates a person like that, do better, be better, be the change you want to see in the world. And like Kimberly said, there's going to be people on the right side of history and the wrong side. Choose the right side. Also, Francis Scott Key, which is the feeder middle school in the Lee Pyramid, also should be renamed due to him owning slaves. And that's all I have. Thank you. Benito Colque, speaker number 17. Hi, Benito. Benito, can you turn on your mic, please? Yes. My name is Benito. I'm a 42-year-old Bolivian American that immigrated to this beautiful

039city almost 20 years ago. My daughter is in my pocket zone here. She's from St. Elementary, Francis Scott Keeley School, and a 2016 alumni of Robert E. Lee High School. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in this meeting. I live in the Monticello neighborhood that surrounds Robert E. Lee for more than 20 years. and I have witnessed and experienced the diverse cultures that have come and gone in this neighborhood. Many of these children went to school with my daughter and participated in many extracurricular activities that the school provides. And seeing this variety of cultures getting together and raising our children together is what this neighborhood is all about. We must all know that these are times for change and we must act now or we will regret it tomorrow. I asked my

040daughter what are her thoughts about the renaming of the high school. And she said this, and I quote, going to school for four years and seeing Robert in the sign outside, then see him on the wall side inside our school and in the school newspaper didn't make sense to me after I learned who he was. what he fought for. I support and I am grateful for his name change as it is important to show solidarity with past and current students whose majority . These changes show that leaders are embracing important changes and are listening to the young people in our community. And then I also read an article from first speaker, Kimberly Boateng, NBC, and she said this, and I quote, leaders in the past would have wanted all these minority students of color being

041educated in this kind of institution. I think our children have a common denominator in Europeans. That is time for a change, and they want a change now. Thank you to everyone. Have a great week. Randy Howard Pastor, speaker number 18. Randy Howard Pastor. Hi, can you hear me? We can. Welcome, Randy. Hi, I'm Brandy, and I'm a rising senior at Lee High School. As a student in the FCPS and who attends Robert E. Lee High School, I'm here today to reflect on how the name Robert E. Lee weighs on students. For those of you who may not have had the privilege to walk through the doors of Lee and sit in the classrooms, I will paint the picture as a young Latina. Every day I walk off the bus and walk under the bold letters

042spelling Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General's glorified name, only to walk into a building where I'm greeted by my friend group containing students who represent numerous cultures such as Honduran, El Salvadorian, Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Egyptian, Peruvian, Somalian, and on and on. Once you take your first two paces into the school, you're stepping into a welcoming environment of students who represent a variety of pigmentations, cultural backgrounds, and languages. When I step into any one of my IB physics, math, science, or history classes, I cannot count with both my hands the countries we all represent at a given time. This is how to describe the student body that we call family. But why should a student body made up so... made up of so many black and brown students, be shadowed by the name of a man who

043fought a war that, if triumphant, would have kept our fellow peers enslaved? The answer is simple. It shouldn't. I understand that the name change was put on hold because of the pandemic, but now is no longer a time to be hesitant, nor was it ever. Now was the time to move forward. And while I'm not asking you to erase Robert E. Lee from history, I'm instead asking you to no longer glorify that racism and fear his name plastered on our entrance and stills. Thank you. Thank you. Johanna Olson, speaker number 19. Johanna Olson, speaker number 20. David Oliver, speaker number 21. Betty Solomon, speaker number 22. Pablo Cejas. Yes, hello. My name is Pablo Sayos from Lake Braddock High School, secondary school, a rising senior. And my points are for it to not be renamed.

044So Robert E. Lee High School, it's a good name, but it should not be renamed. Today, everybody has the same equal rights, okay? And it shouldn't be renamed just because some people are, there's no one is being oppressed. If I'm a Hispanic and I'm not being oppressed if we get out here, Robert E. Lee every day. And so, look, my mom was able to accomplish everything today. She came here 20 years ago, worked off, I mean, just worked, I don't know what to say, but she worked very hard and is where she is now today where we have a house, we have a nice place to live in, and we go to a great school. He should not be renamed just because, oh, because he owned slaves and because he was part of the Confederacy.

045You know that he was actually, he was actually, um... It was so racist. Why did he want to, why did the union want him to be the senior commander? That's a funny thing. And now it's hard for people to try to ignore history. It might not be America's proudest, but it's history nonetheless. And why are we still fighting for something that ended 150 years ago when it's still happening now in Africa? That's the funny part also. And using someone who died 150 years ago to say slavery and that all the stuff stays here today, that's incorrect. So there is no white privilege. No one is being oppressed. That's just an excuse for not doing what you want to do. And I think it should just stay as Robert E. Lee High School. Do not change

046it. And after, if you guys want to change this name, you're going to attack every single white name. I know you guys are trying to say that I may be racist, but no. You guys will attack Thomas Edison, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington. Why? Because they're all white and they all own slaves. AND THEY'RE GOING TO ATTACK, LIKE THE OTHER GUY SAID, FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, JUST BECAUSE HE OWNS SLIPES. HE WROTE THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE POINT. IT'S NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING. YOU GO TO SCHOOL TO LEARN, NOT TO FEEL ACCEPTED. I MEAN, SURE, YOU CAN FEEL ACCEPTED, BUT YOU GO THERE TO LEARN AND NOT MAKE THESE POINTS LIKE THIS. THANK YOU. SPEAKER NUMBER 23, REBECCA KOTNER. hi um my name is rebecca connor and i'm a rising senior at

047south county high school and i believe it is necessary that we change the name of robert e lee high school because leaving that name on an fcps high school is something that inherently goes against the history curriculum that i was taught from first grade in fcps schools that history is a tool from which we learn what mistakes to avoid in the future being the name of someone who fought for the cause of oppression on my school ifies that cause and normalizes it. This is our history. Yes. textbook museums so that future generations of ex-ET students can understand why this civil war occurred and why so many people fought for slavery so that they can push back against that same mentality of white supremacy when they see it in their own lives. And if you Google

048Robert E. Lee High School, the first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia page in which the following line is displayed prominently. At the time the school opened, the Fairfax County School Board was opposing racial integration of its schools and the name reflected the school board's sentiments. to anyone outside the fairfax county community this is what this high school will be known for not the accomplishment of its amazing students and organizations but for standing as a symbol of segregation by changing the name however we can show that those are not the values that fcps holds that instead of standing for separation we stand for inclusion that we welcome all students instead of spurning them taking off the name of a confederate general who turned his back on his country is the first in many steps

049that need to be taken in order to create an educational environment that lives up to the promise of equal opportunity. Naming schools, parks, and federal buildings after any person is done in an attempt to celebrate that person's life and their legacy. Leaving Robert E. Lee's name on a school full of diverse and intelligent students is tantamount to continuing the celebration of his legacy, a legacy of bigotry that has morphed over the years to take the form of Jim Crow laws, segregation redlining and over policing i believe that the students that leave deserve a school name that represents them and their values values that are not found in a secessionist who fought to enslave human beings thank you charles childers speaker number 24 charles childers hello hi hello my name is charles childers i am a

050second generation attendee and rising senior of what is currently robert e lee high school As I'm sure many of you are aware, the school's name was founded on principles of prejudice and hate and goes against the very thing it embodies. Robert E. Lee High School is a high school unlike any other in that in it is a caring, diverse community with different cultures, religions, backgrounds, and stories. It is a place where students, teachers, and administrators all work together to promote unity, peace, and diversity alongside a healthy learning environment. The name Robert E. Lee does not incite such positive messages, as instead it promotes exclusivity and hatred. Changing the name from that of a man who is synonymous with racism to a name that does justice to the community of the greater Springfield-Franconia area in the

051message of my high school would speak volumes for the power of the people. and would encourage a more positive message to those currently enrolled and for all future generations. I urge you all to consider changing the school's name and by doing so bettering our community. Thank you all for listening. Speaker number 25, Danayit Gerenzi. Speaker number 25, Danayit, and I apologize, I mispronounced your name. Good evening. My name is Danayt Bionigrensa and I'm speaking behalf of myself and Rowan Hashim who couldn't be here today. We will both be juniors this fall at Barbara Ely High School. We are proud to say that we attend such a diverse school. High school is supposed to be an amazing and unforgettable experience, which so far it has been. However, I feel ashamed to have to say that this

052school I go that I attend and plan to graduate from is named after a confederate soldier who failed as a leader. We are also so tired of so much time as discussing the fact that the school I attend is named after a racist man. That takes the experience away from me. This topic should not be debatable besides the fact that he was a Confederate general or so-called a proud Virginian. I just want to talk about who he really was. He owned slaves from the age of 22. He inherited 189 slaves. No building or statue should be named after any slave owner. Lee was known as a brutal enslaver of African Americans, which I was never taught in an FCPS classroom. The white supremacists at the Charlottesville rally are the same people that praised Robert E.

053Lee. So that's just something to keep in mind. Renaming Lee High School isn't erasing history. It's just not glorifying someone who had racist intentions. Thank you. Speaker number 26, Aliyah Ramsey. Aliyah Ramsey. Speaker number 27, Maureen Syed. Good afternoon, everyone. I'm going to start by introducing myself. My name is Marion Syed, and I am a rising junior at Robert E. Lee High School. Over these past two years, I have become increasingly involved in my school and community. After educating myself and hearing other students' concerns, I know that it is crucial now more than ever to change the name of our school. Lee High School is one of the most diverse schools in the county, and the name of our school by no means reflects that. By deciding to keep the name, FCPS will be promoting

054an environment that encourages the ideals of the Confederacy, such as racism and white supremacy. These ideals should have no place in FCPS. Keeping the name would also mean those who fought for the Confederacy, those who fought to keep black innocent men and women as slaves are being honored and glorified. After the tragedies that have occurred during the past few months, whether to change the school name should not be a question. Every day as we walk into school, we are reminded of who our school is really named after and what it symbolizes. Every time I am asked what school I go to, I should not be explaining that this school does not represent who it's named after. No student should. Slavery and the Civil War are parts of history that cannot be forgotten, but they should

055not be honored either. Students, especially black students at our school, should not be constantly reminded that the man their school is named after fought to keep slavery legal. Once I graduate, the name of a Confederate general will be on my diploma. While graduation is something to be proud of to most students at Lee High School, the school name on their diploma will bring embarrassment and shame. Furthermore, on October 26, 2017, the school board voted to change the name of Stewart High School, now known as Justice High School. Recently, Prince William County Public Schools Superintendent Steve Waltz stated, we can no longer represent the Confederacy in our schools. Prince William County is looking to rename Stonewall Jackson High School, and renaming Lee High School should be no different. Research from the College of Education at the

056University of Missouri, as well as countless other studies, show a direct relationship between Confederate named schools on black student achievement, as well as academic motivations of black youth. Our students deserve a name that is representative of the diverse population, a name that the students feel proud to share rather than embarrassed by. Thank you. Speaker number 28 has withdrawn, so we will go to speaker number 29, Len Ghisaghi. and I apologize for the mispronunciation. Len, speaker number 29. Speaker number 30, Noor Qasim. Speaker number 30, Noor Qasim. Hello. So, hello, my name is Noor Qasim. I'm a student at Robert E. Lee High School. I'm the class treasurer of the class of 2022. I attend Robert E. Lee High School nine months a year for two years, and hopefully two more years. I, along with hundreds

057of other students, walk into our school every day. to be greeted by our misrepresented name and his portrait. We should not glorify who he was nor what he stood for. I urge you to find one student who is against the name change for our school. We are the people who see the name Robert E. Lee everywhere we go, on our shirts, diplomas, sportswear, official correspondence. It is a part of our everyday routine. We should not let people who have never even stepped foot in our school to decide whether or not we abolish and change our name. I know we've probably heard this many times, but I urge everyone to understand that we are one of the most racially diverse schools in not only the county, but our state. If our school board decides to not

058change our name, our students and parents will know and understand what our county really stands for. We pride our generation on being progressive and doing better. Here right now, in this very moment, is an opportunity to do better. So I urge you all to take this into account. Thank you. Speaker number 31, Vanessa Clay McIntyre. Speaker number 32, Clacy Ramey, or B. Casey Ramey. Speaker number 32. Hello. I'm the Reverend Case Ramey, an Episcopal priest and rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Sharon Chapel, Alexandria, just down on Franconia Road. I urge an immediate name change for this school. The people who are a part of my church live all over Northern Virginia, including in the neighborhoods surrounding the high school. And I confess that for decades, through our action and our silence, the Episcopal Church

059supported this and a myriad of other traumas visited upon our African American, Latinx, Native American, and other siblings, sisters, and brothers. I am here to begin to repent of the evils of white supremacy and to amplify the voices of leaders and students you have already heard from at this meeting. From this school, from this neighborhood, from across the country, and through decades of history, people who have decried the weaponization of Confederate monuments against the black and brown citizens of our nation, I urge you to change the name of this school. We must admit our participation and complicity in the violence we have wrought in our attempts to dehumanize and control the students of this high school. We must believe our siblings who have told us time and again at this meeting and elsewhere of the

060damage monuments, including schools, continue to inflict. We must believe our sisters who have told us that this name is hurting their learning. We must believe our brothers who have told us they want this change. We must turn from white supremacy and toward our neighbors. Please take this one small step. Please change this name. Speaker number 33, Dennis Payne. Speaker number 34, Casey Utley. Speaker number 35, Woody Hinkle. Hello. My name is Woody Hinkle. I live in Bethesda, Maryland, but I grew up in Springfield and lived there for more than 30 years. I was in the first group of kids to attend Lindbrook Elementary, the first group to attend Washington Irving Intermediate, and in 1966, I graduated from Robert E. Lee High School. My parents owned the Springfield Independent Newspaper, and I worked there full-time for

061several years after I graduated from college. My point is, I may live in Maryland now, but I'm a native son of Springfield, and I care what happens there. My hometown means something to me. My high school means something to me. I'm not here to defend Robert E. Lee or to debate Robert E. Lee or to cast dispersions on those who favor the name change the way several people have spoken about those who oppose a name change. But I do have two concerns about changing the name. One, I believe that in a very real sense, the school belongs to all of us, graduates, teachers, and students alike. As I understand it, and I'm quoting here, there has not been a groundswell of advocacy in the Lee High School community to take this action, so why take

062it? More than 10,000 students have graduated from Lee since it opened. Nobody asks us how we feel about changing the name of our school, but more than 700 alumni have signed a petition in opposition to it. I believe there are almost 1,800 students at Lee currently, and I doubt anybody knows for sure exactly how many of them favor or even care about a name change. But those of us who are on record in opposition equal at least a third of the total population of students there now. It's up to you to decide which opinions matter most to you, current students or current students and graduates. We're all in the Lee High School family, and we all care about the school. The Lee High School community is more than just current students or school board members.

063Sure, the demographics of the school have changed a lot since I was there, but I suspect they will be different still 10, 20, or 30 years from now. demographics tend to be fluid over time and who's to say that whatever new name you come up with today won't offend students in the future my second point of this if you have 400 to 500 thousand dollars to spend on lee high school why not spend it on things that can actually affect the quality of the education there like books resources computers building improvements not signage logo uniforms and stationery the name of the school is not nearly so important as the education of students get there So why not make an investment at Lee in things that can actually positively impact all students and teachers, not just

064those who have a problem with the name. So the two things I want to say are that one, the community of people who care about Lee High School goes far beyond today's students. And two, if you're going to spend money at Lee, spend it on the education there rather than the name on the wall outside. Finally, I recognize that especially in today's environment, a name change is probably a foregone conclusion. I believe your minds are made up and this hearing is more or less a required gesture. But I hope you will consider simply reverting to Lee High School. It was not named after Robert E. Lee. The name came from the fact that it was a new district and had nothing to do with Robert E. Lee. Thank you, Mr. Hinkle. Thank you, Mr. Hinkle.

065Mr. Hinkle, we have a restriction on three minutes. We appreciate your coming out today. Speaker number 36, Mark Leighton. Yes. Hello. Hello. Go ahead. Are you Mr. Heinitz? Yes, I am. Thank you. My name is Mark Heinitz, and I'm here to speak in favor of the name change. I'm the father of two young adult daughters and a godson who are recent graduates of Robert E. Lee High School. Our family has lived a block away from Lee High School for almost 25 years. Central Springfield is a welcoming place to live, work, and shop. However, Springfield has suffered for years from, quote, development, undefined boundaries, and a lack of clear identity. This quote is from a 2006 study prepared by the Urban Land Institute Advisory Panel, which led to a 2008 report titled the Springfield Connectivity Study.

066This study recommended the establishment of a unified identity for the commercial area through signage, gateway treatments, and branding. After many years and much effort, the Springfield branding project is underway in which new gateway entrance signs will be installed to welcome visitors and shoppers into the central Springfield commercial area. The name of our community school is an important part of this rebranding effort. The name Robert E. Lee is completely contrary to these efforts to welcome all who come here to live or visit. In addition to being a hub for regional transportation, Central Springfield is undergoing rapid development. The new TS headquarters is almost completed. Kaiser is building a new medical facility. Innova recently announced they will be building a new hospital. We remain a finalist for the new FBI headquarters. All this in addition to the

067ongoing redevelopment plans of Springfield Town Center. More people are recognizing central Springfield as an attractive destination. The name of its high school should be one in which everyone in our community can take pride. For many years Fairfax County Public Schools were named primarily for geographic areas and locations in the community My vote for a new name would be Central Springfield High School Thank you speaker number 37 Maureen Brody speaker number 38 Kathleen Mallard speaker number 39 Dixie Ross speaker number 40 Kelly Hebron. Speaker number 41, Allison Vance. Hi, my name is Allison Vance and I graduated from Lee High School in 2015. I'm going to read a letter that expresses my hope that the name will be changed. Please note that 100 other alumni and community members also signed on to this letter. I'm not

068retired, so I wasn't able to... a ton of time to garnering support for my letter. But I'm sure if I was able to spend like all day every day garnering signatures, I would have gotten like 700 or a thousand or as many as the guy who lives in Maryland did. Growing up in Virginia, I was ashamed to know that my state was on the wrong side of history. Now, as a graduate and young adult, I recognize that the name of my high school is representative of the terrible history of Virginia and representative of the systemic racism and what still exists in our country. I'm equally ashamed to know that the name of the school originates from a second time when our state was on the wrong side of history, the era of Jim Crow laws.

069In 1954, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that... and 10 full years Fairfax County are still doing all they could to the school board change the name of Lee High School which was named after the Lee district to Robert Lee High School to reflect segregation now will the current school board allow that legacy of poetry to continue I propose that the school board vote to change the name of Robert Lee High School as soon as possible to the current name which reflects the device of history This year, the school board has the opportunity to amend the mistakes of those who came to make sure that future young members of our community no longer have to have this name. I still have my diploma because it hasn't been filed. Students in our community should be able to

070attend a school with a name that they can be proud of and should be able to know that they're equally valued no matter the color of their skin and are equally powerful to shape the future of their community. This year, I ask that the school board repair the legacy of the 1960s and place our community finally on the right side of the screen. Rosie Oakley, speaker number 42, Rosie Oakley. I'm going to now hand the moderating over to my colleague, Karen Key Skimara, who will read the next 42 names. Karen. Thank you. I am not, and I'm not sure I've been made a moderator. You can go ahead and speak the same way I did. We can hear you. No, I know but you don't need to be made a moderator to speak. I need

071the list of speakers though. Still working out this Blackboard, Kees. Mrs. Corbin-Sanders, do you want to continue? Ms. Kees-Gamara, I'm going to call the next five names while they send you the list, okay? Thanks. Speaker number 43, Saad Hassan Shah. Mr. Shah? I'm here, ma'am. I just didn't know if the video was coming through or not. Can you hear me now? We can hear you and see you, so welcome. There I am, in the corner. I have a really brief statement, very similar to what everyone else said. I did submit a full statement if folks want to take a look at it, which was a bit lengthier. Good afternoon, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share my thoughts. As a way of introduction, my name is Hassan Shah. I grew up in

072Springfield, Virginia, went to Lundbrook Elementary, Key Middle, and Lee High School and graduated in 1997. I joined the Marine Corps and served from 1999 to 2004, being mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Including myself, over two dozen of my cousins have graduated from Lee and likely a large part of our next generation will attend this school. I believe the school board will make the correct decision and make sure that we have a new name for my high school, one that is fitting of our diversity and welcoming community. With that said, what I did want to do was share some historical facts that I was able to pull off of websites like the UVA, U.S. History website, as well as a letter from General Robert Ely, just to show you why. important that we move towards changing

073the name. So the following passage is from the UVA Digital Resources for U.S. History, Virginia's Rejection of the Brown Ruling. Virginia's massive resistance plan emerged out of an August 1956 special session of the legislature called to consider these issues, meaning the court ruling and board. The session pulled Virginia away from the great plan of local options, which we all should support, and into a statewide program of defiant resistance to federal desegregation orders, sort of going against what was the law of the land at the time. It was clear that Virginia would hold the line on segregated schools everywhere, regardless of local opinion on the matter. By 1956, Virginia's senior U.S. senator and political leader, Harry F. Byrd, pushed the massive resistance tactic as a political maneuver. So I wanted to express that because I think

074it's really important for us to understand how history has been, is being used to prevent us from changing this name. However, as you guys can see, this is right out of 1956 when they started desegregating and there was an actual movement or a systematic approach to ensuring that we continue to be a segregated community. I also wanted to make sure that I shared some thoughts that I found from General Lee. And this is a reading from the Republican Vindicator from September 3rd, 1869. So in the summary of this article, the paper prints Robert E. Lee's note declining an invitation to join officers on the battlefield of Gettysburg to mark true positions for posterity. Lee and a number of Democratic newspapers believe. that the battle of gettysburg and the strike mr shaw thank you so much

075we really appreciate you coming out tonight and we also appreciate your service to our country i'm now going to hand the mic back over to uh miss keys gamara thank you uh thank you madam chair i believe we are up to number 44. that's correct Okay, I'm going to call Ms. Michelle Leet. Thank you. Good day, Madam Chair, school board members, Dr. Brabrand, friends and neighbors. I'm Michelle Leet, Vice President of Edison High School PTSA and First Vice President of Fairfax County NAACP. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on the renaming of Robert E. Lee High School. What if instead of awarding the winner of a competition, we instead award the trophy to the losing participant? What if every case when we could have chosen to celebrate all of our students and

076their bright futures, we chose to highlight a time in history, tragic, tumultuous, and troubled. What if an institution of learning was named for a person and of a time long gone, long past, and that should never, ever return? What if this school name was not only the antithesis of everything the school represented, but of what our community today represents? What if this school population represented the very best among us, young people full of life and diverse in their thoughts, ideals, goals, and culture, but similar in their quest to be good, be better, be anything? What if we celebrated a person who not only owned slaves, but fought diligently to keep black people in bondage? What if we had an opportunity to right a wrong, to make the just the unjust just, to close an old

077gaping wound, to quite frankly render Robert E. Lee as part of Virginia's history, but not of its future? What if we all sat here, unmoved, unrepentant, unjust, and unrelenting in our quest to be silent and to be unchanged? What if we built monuments and statues of nothingness to celebrate white supremacy and the oppression of African Americans for generations? What if we removed symbols of divisiveness and transformed from uncomfortable for some to comfortable for all? What if we led by example of the great and not the illustration of the awful? Nelson Mandela said that fools multiply when wise men are silent. Spike Lee said, do the right thing. Chance Rapper said, we only know what we know until someone knows better. So let us wise men and women do the right thing, because now we know

078better. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Leet. We move on to number 46, Andy Twigg. Hello. My name is Andy Twigg. I am an alumnus of Justice High School, a member of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. and a member of the Fairfax NAACP. I'd like to echo the words of Ms. Leet and the subsequent words of Mr. Perriman. I am here in favor of the renaming process for Robert E. Lee High School. I would like to thank the school board for the role here on and and giving this push forward though I admittedly I think it's a little bit later that I would have liked to see it be done but nonetheless I appreciate you know what you've done and what I anticipate you will do which is the right thing I'm also proud to hear

079the activism and words of the Lee High School students who have spoken so eloquently in favor of this name change and the sort of what the monument represents, which is what it was meant to represent when it was erected, that of terrorism, white supremacy, and intimidation. And in the same way that the name Robert E. Lee, when it was erected, was intended to show the priorities of the community and the thoughts of the school board, I believe that you can do the right thing here and show your alternative priorities and opinions that are. you know, of anti-racism and of equity and of righting a wrong that was a wrong related to a previous wrong and a whole sort of slew of wrongs. And so with that being said, I think everyone has correctly expressed why

080Robert E. Lee is a monument of racism and must be changed. But what I want to also ask is that in the same way that I think that Robert E. Lee should have been renamed before and that the school board could have done this earlier and been more courageous, right, while you're servants of the people. and it is your job to represent us, you can also lead us. And I'm asking you to lead us in this renaming and in other things. I'm asking you to lead us in the change of the curriculum to be more representative of our actual history and not a whitewashed, you know, lost cause. And I'm asking you to consider the effects and continuing effects of residential segregation on how this broad county and how it affects us and means that

081there are truly different school systems within the county, they're based on geography. And I'm asking you to consider the context around a child's education and how you can best ask the Board of Supervisors to make all students better in and outside of the classrooms. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. We have, please, I can stop this. sorry it doesn't want to stop hold on okay there we go all right thank you we have next mr sean perryman number 48 sean perryman miss keys could you call 47 oh i'm sorry uh that was oh i'm sorry mr luke lavasier i'm sorry sorry no no problem um thank you very much uh i don't know if you can hear me i hope you can um My name is Luke Levis, I'm a resident of McLean, Virginia.

082Thank you to the school board for inviting people to participate. I understand that in the late 1950s, Robert E. Lee High School was opened and given a name honoring the Confederate War General. As one of the students who spoke earlier noted, When the school was open, the county school board, which was constituted of individuals whose collective mindset was thankfully very different than that of the current school board, was opposing racial integration at all costs. I'm sure that many people, particularly many of the students who've spoken before me, have explained and can explain much more eloquently than I ever can why the naming of schools and other public facilities after Confederate war generals was always wrong. It was wrong at any time, that action. I agree entirely with that position. But giving names like Robert E.

083Lee to schools and erecting statues honoring Confederate generals and other Confederate leaders during the 1950s and 1960s weren't just wrong. They were purposefully hateful acts that were part of the South's massive resistance to ending Jim Crow segregation and expanding the civil rights of Black Americans. The South's fight to maintain the apartheid system of Jim Crow, of which the name of this school is a part, was one of the most shameful parts of American history and the history of the South. The names of Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee should never have been put on a Fairfax County Public School. Removal of that name is long overdue and I fully support and thank the school board for finally removing the name of Robert E. Lee from a Fairfax County Public School. Thank you very much.

084Thank you. Next we have number 48, Mr. Sean Perryman. Number 48, Sean Perryman. I'm here. Can you see me? Yes. Hi, my name is Sean Perryman. I'm the president of the Fairfax County NAACP. I first testified before this school board with a different membership about three years ago in June of 2017 on the renaming of Jeb Stewart. During my testimony, I said that we cannot embrace Confederate schools without embracing the core value of the Confederacy, white supremacy. I talked about our value statement as a community and as a school board. I talked about how the Confederacy was founded on the great truth, according to Alexander Stevens, the vice president of the Confederacy, that the Negro is inferior to the white man. I talked about how every day you send students, both of color and white,

085to a school named after a traitor who fought and died for white supremacy. All those things remain true and have remained true the entire time that Robert E. Lee has been named. We have met with school board members privately. We have testified publicly. You have heard from the community. You continue to hear from the community. Now, some members have fought and done the right thing. Some members have stood against progress, claiming that the community didn't want this. How many times do you have to close your ears to this? This isn't ignorance. This is an unwillingness to face racism in our community head on. It is cowardly, and I was right to call you cowards at the time. I remember vividly as members of this board, who didn't even vote to change Jeff Stewart, went around

086celebrating, taking victory laps, posing for pictures, doing everything as if they were on board with this progress. They were not. You've had every opportunity since the death of Heather Heyer, since the events in Charlottesville, every opportunity to change this name. You should take no joy in doing it now because you waited too long. You were not interested in change. You cannot declare now that Black Lives Matter only when Black lives are lost, when there is some sort of brutal death on your television and you're forced to finally face the racism that's been here in this community since the very beginning. This school board has to deal not only with these Confederate names. That's a small step. They have to deal with the AP program that locks out black students from opportunity because of the way

087it's set up. They have to deal with Thomas Jefferson that continues to deny opportunity to black students, even though they may have the scores. They don't meet the subjective criteria. You have to deal with a racist school system. And frankly, I believe the only thing that caused the school board to act was the brutal death of George Floyd, coupled with a letter from the student member on this board. It is pathetic and embarrassing, and you should be ashamed that during a time of such trauma for so many young black people, let alone our youth, that she had to write an impassioned plea for you to finally change this name. You owe her an apology. You owe this community apology. If you have a shred of decency, you will not only change the name, you will

088apologize for not doing so sooner, and you will take further steps to make amends. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Perrin. Next, we have number 49, Mr. Lenny Wolf. Yes, hello. I've been a taxpayer and property owner in Fairfax County for 30 years. I would like to voice my concern over renaming Lee High School. My main message is to please use our tax money to teach history, not to deny history. Teach the students a historical context for when this name was chosen and why our society has changed. That includes all the history, including the desegregation period. Show them the pluses and the minuses of the person for which the building was named. Teach them to think and use their own heads to make up their own minds about this name. and not to be demanded to

089apologize. I watched many of the school board meetings when Jeff Duert was renamed and came away with the feeling that you created more division in the community than the perceived divisions you were trying to solve. I heard board members say late in the process that now it's time for the community to heal. I had never heard this kind of division before in my 30 years of living here. Also with the impact of the virus on local and state tax revenue. This is not the time to spend more money. Use the money the school system does have for paying teachers, maintaining buildings, not for social activism. Regarding returning to school in the fall with the virus, Dr. Brabrand recently said that this is the hardest year in the history of public education. I suggest you work

090on the much more important issue of getting students back into that school, into a face-to-face teaching environment in the right way. rather than changing the name on that building. We taxpayers do feel like we own these schools when we want the students to learn. Thank you for listening. Thank you, sir. We will move on to number 50, Helen Savoy. Good afternoon. Thank you for offering me the opportunity to speak. My son attends Lee High School, and I completely support renaming it. However, as the school board considers this, I think it would be irresponsible not to consider other critical issues related to the health and safety that exist at the school. The school's HVAC system is, in our current pandemic environment, a danger to the students and staff. Despite needing to have been replaced, it has

091instead repeatedly been cobbled together to try to make it work. In the main office, one administrator's office was 68 degrees and couldn't be warmed up, while the office right next to it was 87 degrees with no way to cool it down. And for some reason, when the school was designed, they did not put vents in the hallways or main areas. So there's absolutely no climate control or ventilation in hallways or some lobby areas. This isn't a matter of comfort. In our current COVID-19 environment, it's a matter of safety and in consideration of medically fragile students, potentially a matter of life or death. According to NIH, there's little evidence that ventilation directly reduces the risk of disease transmission, but studies suggest that insufficient ventilation increases disease transmission. CDC guidelines state that building operators should ensure that

092ventilation systems in the facility operate properly. They also state that unless it poses a safety or health risk, we should increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible by opening windows and doors, using fans and other methods. They also recommend considering running the building ventilation system even during unoccupied times to maximize dilution ventilation. None of this is feasible at Lee due to the current condition of the HVAC system and the fact there's not a single window in a hallway in Lee High School. No HVAC vents, no windows, there's no ventilation in the hallways in some lobby areas, period. The rest of the school that has HVAC and ventilation has it unreliably at best, if at all. I fully understand that these two issues, the renaming and the HVAC system, come from two different pots

093of money. The reality is there is a budget shortfall on FCPS that, depending on what you read, is in the tens of millions of dollars. As laudable and necessary as it is, I think, to address the name change, right now you are talking about sending students back into a building that is funded by the state. really unsafe and stands in direct opposition of guidance from the CDC. In light of this, I am asking the school board to consider if it is worth spending half a million or a million dollars rebranding the school when, unless you address the school's HVAC and ventilation issues. The students and staff are potentially returning to a horrifically unsafe environment that jeopardizes their health and possibly their lives. There is no name change that protect the students and staff from a

094building with poor or no ventilation during this pandemic. While yes, the name does need to be addressed, these are unprecedented times. If you have limited funding, the school board needs to consider what is more important to address first. The name of the school or the class that is going to all available guidance is on stake. The students can return to it. Thank you, ma'am. We're going to move on to Ms. Liz Murphy, number 51. Liz Murphy, number 51. Good evening. Can you hear me? Yes, ma'am. Okay. Good evening. My name is Liz Murphy, proud advocate for Lee High School, parent of Lee graduates class of 2012-2015, and godparent of Lee High School graduate class of 2019. I have lived in the neighborhood next to Lee High School for the past 24 years. And finally, I

095am an advocate for the redrawing of FCPS school boundaries to address present and past county and FCP policies that segregate many of our Fairfax County school communities by skin color and economic class status. At the March 11th Lee High School Name Change Community Meeting, FCPS staff shared archival records dated July 16, 1963. On that date, the Lee High School PTSA formally requested that the school board change the name of Lee High School to Robert E. Lee High School. The motion carried and no written minutes are known to exist indicating why the name change was requested and sponsored by the school board. Most likely, public knowledge of the failed attempts of Alabama Governor George Wallace to block black students Vivian Malone and James Hood from enrolling in the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963, influenced

096their decisions. In addition, they were most likely reacting to President Kennedy's address to the nation that same evening of June 11, 1963. President Kennedy outlined his plan to send legislation to Congress amplifying the protection of all Americans, their voting rights, legal standing, educational opportunities, and access to all public facilities. This request would become known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The past decision by FCPS and the school board to use our Lehigh school community to honor a Confederate general, a traitor to the union of these United States, and to perpetuate the intimidating and violent mindset of those who believe in white supremacy was flat out wrong. The name Robert E. Lee then and today is associated with armed resistance to U.S. racial integration and resistance to equality for all people, especially black people. I

097strongly urge the removal of the name Robert E. Lee from the front of the school's building the day after the school board will do the right thing and vote to change the name of Lee High School. That date would be later this week, June 24, 2020. Lee High School's present and past students would be better served with no name on their building. until an appropriate name can be proposed by the community and approved by the school board at their July 23rd meeting. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Murphy. Next, we have number 52, Charles Lease. Yes. Good afternoon. Can you hear me? Yes, we can, sir. All right, good afternoon. My name is Charles Lease. I'm proudly serving in the United States Military Reserves. I'm currently getting educated in my bachelor's degree and my

098fiance and I are both alumni of the Fairfax County Public School System. We met in... Francis Scott Key Middle School, where we started dating. We've been together for 11 years now. And I think we, our wedding party and our close knit family and friends truly represent the diversity of this area. And I feel that the name of Robert E. Lee High School does not. I'm gonna build on what the previous speaker, Ms. Murphy had stated on all that about the I have the school board minutes. I've been looking through them. I urge you all to get educated on them. I don't want to talk about them too much. I want to use Robert E. Lee's words himself to explain the character that he stood for. Robert E. Lee stated in an 1856 letter. that he

099used the words moral and political evil to describe slavery, which people who support him say that. They don't tell you what he went on to say. He said, I think it, however, a greater evil to the white man than to the black race. And while my feelings are stronger, are strongly enlisted on behalf of the latter, my sympathies are more strong for the former. The blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa morally, socially, and physically. The painful discipline they are undergoing is necessary for their instruction as a race, and I hope to prepare and lead them to better things. How long their subjugation may be necessary is known and ordered by a wise, merciful providence. Their emancipation will soon result from the mild and melting influence of Christianity and the storms and tempests

100of fiery controversy. Those words give me chills because I am a Jewish American. I come from a minority group. My fiance was born in Africa, came here. If she came here and went through this painful discipline, as Emily Lee put it, would she be better off here than where she grew up, where she loved, the way she was raised? The answers are no. I think that people who hide behind that are cowards. And for the cowards that are arguing that we don't have the money to rename this school and to stop perpetuating this hate. I would argue that diverse Americans, diverse locals such as ourselves should be able to get new diplomas with a new name. So you can generate revenue that way. I would probably buy a new diploma that says my name without

101the hateful name of Robert E. Lee next to it. So that's the end of my remarks. I just want the school board to consider allowing alumni to get new diplomas. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Lease. Next, we have number 53, Steven Spitz. Hello. I wanted to say that it's an honor to follow the speaker previous who I met at the Robert E. Lee High School. Please listen to the students who attend the high school. I believe that all of them have said, change the name. All of them who spoke so far. Not a single student at Robert E. Lee High School said, oh, I'm just fine with that. I am sick and tired of people who say, well, I went to Lee High School 50 years ago, and I like the fact that it's still

102called Robert E. Lee High School. Well, guess what? Education is about the students. The school board is supposed to educate the students who attend the school, the present students and the future students. The present students and the future students deserve a name that is more reflective of our values in Fairfax County. I just wanted to read something that Jamel Bowie wrote in the New York Times on. June 14th about Confederate statues like the ones in Richmond are visible reminders of a time when white society was nearly united in the subjugation of blacks. And he said they marked the spaces in which stood an essentially white territory. That is precisely what the school board did when it named Robert E. Lee High School with that name. Precisely. And to even consider Delaying one more minute the

103renaming this high school particularly in the midst of what we've gone through in this country in the last few weeks would be to put it mildly inappropriate. I urge you as soon as possible rename this high school. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Spitz. We have number 54, Richard Lindsay. Yes, ma'am. Thank you for allowing me to speak. So by my count, we've had 52 out of 53 speakers in favor of renaming this school. And I have always been of the mind that such things were inevitable in this country. So I'm not here to argue against renaming the school. I'm just here to offer a different perspective for these students who seem highly motivated and seeking out history and knowledge about these topics, but may not have considered some of these other things. A little bit

104about me, I joined the army after 9-11 and fought in three wars for this country. And I hear the term traitor thrown out a lot for Robert E. Lee. Well, if he was a traitor, then we're not our founders' traitors also, because the American Revolution was a revolt against what then would be called their country. So what we've done is we've established impossible metrics by which to judge people. And the only seemingly consistent one I've seen is that if you win, it's okay. And if you don't... then someone else writes your history about you. And you know, that's fine. That's kind of the way of history, but we can also be honest about it in the present. So a lot of people don't seem to know that in 1877, a deal was made between the

105South and Rutherford B. Hayes when he was about to get elected president, but hadn't secured the election because of electoral issues. And in that deal, the South was offered to keep its Confederate iconography in history in exchange for fighting in the nation's wars. Well, the South has fought in this nation's wars more so than anyone else. The South makes up 45% of enlistments currently. I fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, and I spent a lot of time in Africa, and I'll tell you the horrors I saw there will keep you up at night. But that being said, you know, what we consider this to be traditional Southerners who joined the military, we consider this to be reneging of a deal that was made. And we were taught this history when we were kids, and I

106haven't heard anyone talking about that so far. So I'll just throw a couple things out there. If you're going to call Robert E. Lee racist, which according to today's standard is absolutely correct, then of course Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant would not escape your scorn because Ulysses Grant freed his slaves after Robert E. Lee. Several Confederate generals didn't own slaves. Yes, I'm well aware that the state constitution cited slavery 83 times. And Alexander Stevens was despised by the Confederate generals for his basic understanding of why the South should fight this war. But Robert E. Lee said famously that he chose to defend his state. He would have been a traitor either way. He would have either had to tell his country or his state no. And so basically we're boiling this down to did he

107pick the correct side based off whether they won or not. We're not looking at the moral justifications of the man and his leadership qualities, which are beyond reproach if you're just looking at military leadership. And I'll just say that be careful of the metrics you're establishing, because by the current standards that I've heard so far, no one is going to escape this trap. We're going to have to tear down every statue, you know, because the racist measure of effectiveness that we've determined is appropriate. really it has no left and right limit it just shifts based off whatever the popular opinion is. Thank you. We're going to move on to number 56, Mercio Montianu, excuse me if I didn't say that correctly. Number 56, Mercio, do we have number 56? Okay number 57, Ernie Kiger. Number

10857, Ernie Kiger. Is Mr. Ernie Kiger here? Okay, number 58, David Hatcher. Number 58, David Hatcher. Number 59, Eric Jones. Good evening. I want to start out by congratulating the 2020 graduates of Lee High School. Go Lancers. The name Lee High School represents hard work, education, pride, and the coming of age of many generations of students here in the Lee District of Fairfax County. To rebrand this institution would take away from these proud alumni and the community that has supported them to succeed. The names of Americans are seen on great institutions of education, not because they were perfect or popular. but because of their overall contributions to our nation. Research beyond Wikipedia into some other juried and more reputable sources will yield some of Mr. Lee's positive attributes, including a service in the United States

109Army. Yes, the United States Army. He is a veteran. Lastly, every one of us here has feelings and emotions. We've heard a number of speakers here talk about theirs. However, when confronted with important decisions, one must be certain to act with rationality rather than emotions. Critical decisions are best made in consideration of fact before feelings. It is concerning that sentiment may be driving the effort to remove the name of our school and tainting debate over the important decision that is to be made shortly. I'm opposed to a name change, and I thank you for your time this evening. Thank you, sir. Next, we have number 60, William R. Hunt. Yes. I appreciate the opportunity to speak here. I graduated in 1977 from Robert E. Lee. I want to say that I believe Robert E. Lee

110to be one of the greatest Americans to ever live. He was a great human being, a devout Christian, and when forced to make a choice whether to stay with the Union or go with the South, he couldn't fight against his own people, his friends, his family. The Union desecrated his property by burying dead at Arlington, which was his home, which led to Arlington Cemetery. At the end of the war, he dedicated his life trying to reconcile the nation and also gave it to education as he ran Washington University in Lexington, Virginia until his death, which is now Washington League University. At the surrender, he told his men, these men, speaking of the Union, are our countrymen again, and tried to get everybody to get along. The Union thought that the war would last for three

111months. However, it went on for four grueling years with a devastating death toll. So many people want you to believe it was about slavery. However, that's not the case. It was about states' rights. The South wanted to secede from the Union, but Lincoln wouldn't allow that, which forced the war. Do you really believe thousands, tens of thousands of men from both sides would have left their home? lived in deplorable conditions because a small percent of southerners had slaves. Common sense would tell you better than that. The main problem nowadays, however, is the school system itself. You stop teaching Virginia history as well as Civil War history, so the youth today has no idea of the truth. All they hear is the hate that is spewed from everywhere, in the schools, on the news. Most people

112don't realize the war was brother against brother, father against son. History should be taught honestly with all the good and bad so that people can understand it. Hate shouldn't be taught by anyone, but that's all that fills everything you hear. Soon they will want to take away the United States flags, and many of you will be appalled because your loved one has fought or died for it. But that won't matter because a couple people will be offended by something they heard on the news. Maybe true, maybe not. They won't even verify it one way or the other. It'll just have to come down. Freedom is what our flag has always stood for, but not any longer. It stands for the ones who protest the loudest, even when they don't understand the issues. Just form a

113mob and destroy something, you must have a just cause. Bad things happen in this country, that needs to be fixed. But breaking something else will not fix the first one. Slavery was wrong, it will always be wrong. But people who don't study history are prone to repeat it. Lee High School doesn't have the funds to support the programs they have or fix the building. You want to spend tens of thousands or more dollars to change the name. I was told from by a former employee that you don't even have some people to teach certain ethnicities. And they don't have anybody with themselves to help. Thank you, sir. Thank you. It looks like I skipped over number 55. I will go to Mr. Ed Matricardi. much number 55 here I thought I heard someone are you

114here sir no this is Jim McDonald can you hear me oh you're gonna be next I just skipped over someone and I just wanted to make sure I called their name is mr. Mappacardi here okay all right then we will go to number 61 Jim McDonald thank you members of the school board I recommend that there be a Democratic vote taken at the next county election of residents of Fairfax County to determine if the name of Lee High School should be changed. I say that for a couple of reasons. The school board has not, to my eyes, supplied their reasons for wanting to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School. Those reasons need to be supplied by the school board. Those reasons should be given to the public before the citizens vote. Also,

115there's community engagement. isn't community engagement required on a proposed high school name change? Community engagement. But at the March 11th meeting, the school board member told my group that he or she was certain that every school board member would vote to change the name, meaning that they'd already decided. That is, the school board decided without and before the required community engagement. The democratic vote of the citizenry will correct that profound school board regulation violation. And that, that vote will be true community engagement. So we must have a democratic vote. I volunteer to be on the committee that drafts the ballot question. Thank you. Thank you, sir. We go on to number 62, Steve Childress. Steve Childress. I was number 65, but I'll go quickly too. I'd like to just say I'm Steve Childers, Fairfax County

116resident since 1958 and a proud alumnus of Robert E. Lee High School in 1965. I served as a senior class senator and have been in charge of our homecoming reunions for 55 years now. I've spoken to a number of our classmates and alumnus, and a majority of about 70% feel like that the name Robert E. Lee should remain. Now, what are some reasons for that? Understanding what happened to Robert E. Lee after the war is a crucial component of the discussion of how he should be remembered. Many people don't know this, but Robert E. Lee, after the war, was one of the most influential in reconstruction and reconciliation to bring the country back together and to provide peace and diversity and acceptance of all races. TO BE EQUAL. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THIS,

117AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THE CURRENT STUDENTS LEARN HISTORY BETTER OR MORE. PROVERTY LEE WAS ATTENDING CHURCH IN RICHMOND AFTER THE WAR, AND A BLACK PERSON CAME, BLACK MAN CAME IN, AND IT WAS TIME FOR COMMUNION, AND THE BLACK MAN WAS RELUCTANT TO take communion and Robert E. Lee took him personally up himself and took communion with him. He personally set the example that race is equal for all and all lives matter. Not just black lives, but all lives. Thank you, sir. I haven't had three minutes, Ella. I thought I heard the beep. You did, but it wasn't three minutes. Okay, Ms. Moberg, was that your... That was not our timer, that was someone else's. Okay, I'm sorry, sorry. Please continue. Thank you. From what I've heard too, I'd like to just

118echo Woody Hagel's request that he was not able to stay at the end of his three minutes. If there's a name change of this school... It really should go back to its original name, which was Lee High School, named after the Lee District, which is still called the Lee District. All right. There it is, sir. Thank you. My horse, Lee's father, a revolutionary general. Thank you, sir. That was the real bell. Thank you so much. I thought I called Mr. Jim McDonald, but just to make sure, number 61, Jim McDonald? Okay. Then we have Rizwan Shah. Can you see me? Yes, sir. Hi. Two of my children will be graduates of Robert E. Lee High School. I graduated from Chantilly High School. As an eight-year-old immigrant in Chantilly, Virginia, the first bad word I learned

119was sand nigger because that is what some of our neighbors called me. Groups of people would gather in front of our house, threatening to harm us. Who came to our rescue? The officers of the Fairfax County Police Department. They will forever have my respect and admiration. They give a child a strong sense of service to our community and nation. I entered the U.S. Army in 1992. I've done operational tours in 13 countries around the planet. I was an NCO, a warrant officer, and an officer. My highest award was a Bronze Star for actions in combat. I retired a proud veteran and continue to serve as a senior advisor in the federal government. Service is in my blood as is the love for this nation, its character and its legacy. According to Virginia rules in naming

120our infrastructure, no name shall be eligible if it implies anything that is socially, racially, or ethnically offensive or disparaging. That we should choose names to memorialize, honor, or tribute. An example, a memorial to commemorate a state official who was killed during the performance of their duties, or to honor a group of people such as Vietnam War veterans. A tribute is an act, statement, or gift intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration. Why pay homage to those who committed treason, whose direct actions resulted in the deaths of over 600,000 Americans? The declarations of secession of the Confederacy were explicit. They wanted to preserve slavery. Is this the message we want to share with our children and their children, to others around the planet? Because these days, the message is far-reaching. I offer that we should not

121memorialize, honor, dedicate, nor pay tribute to those men. They belong in history books. We should learn about them, their failures, as well as their successes. They do not deserve schools named after them. We should choose from Americans who had a positive contribution. I personally served and still serve alongside many who will fit the bill. One of the things that makes this country wonderful is our willingness to change to better ourselves. Time has proven that. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 19th Amendment gave the women right to vote. Segregation ended in the military in 1948, following with our schools in 1954. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act ended employer discrimination due to race, color, sex, religion, or national origins. Americans made these policy changes for the love of our nation and

122its people. We have come so far, but the journey is not over. Changing the name of this school is but one step in the right direction. By renaming this school, we will send a clear and concise message about our nation's character and its legacy, not just to our children, but the world. Let us honor Americans who serve this nation and whose deeds genuinely reflect our values today. Let their names and our actions inspire our children. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. We're going to move on to number 64, Mr. Scott Travis. Number 64, Scott Travis. Is he with us? Okay. We'll go to number 65, Douglas Livermore. Number 65, Douglas Livermore. Number 66, George Alber. Number 66, George Alber. Number 67, Michael Boulware. Number 67, Michael Boulware. Number 68, David Thomas. Hello, can you

123hear me okay? Yes, sir. Thank you. Hi, my name is David Thomas. I'm coming to you now as a Lee High School parent. Both of my son and daughter have both graduated from Lee in the past four years. My daughter this year, actually. With everything that's happened in Virginia and across the country in the past several weeks, I've heard one consistent notion against changing the names of schools and public buildings, that it would erase their history. I don't agree with that for a very specific reason. We can remember the history and teach what we have as history without canonizing those that stood for things that we never agreed with. Our intention should always be to remember history, but what we focus on and the lens we view it with speaks more about us than any

124figure from history we may choose to do so. The people and stories we make into icons of society that we orbit our history lessons around and highlight with our public displays matter to those that look up to us and those who will come after us. I think we have a chance to shift focus without forgetting history but still change what we exemplify in society by the buildings we name and statues we put in place. I think we've all heard the term phrase, history is written by the victorious, and I think this is no exception. Those who stood against the basic tenets of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights should not be revered even if they were victorious, which they were not. With our history properly focused and deliberate consideration for everyone in our society,

125we can rename Lee High School to Ulysses S. Grant High School, since that's who Robert E. Lee surrendered to in 1865. Thank you everyone for your time and comments. Thank you, Mr. Thomas. We are moving on to number 69, Joseph Miller. Number 69, Joseph Miller. Number 70, Mahd Alsadi. Number 70, Mahdi Alsadi. Number 71, Pamela Ananewu. I'm so sorry. I'm having trouble with your last name. Is Pamela available, number 71? Yes, good evening. It's Pamela Ananewu. Thank you. Yeah, thanks. So justice delayed is justice denied. I think it's high time that FCPS elevate black voices. We need to enact anti-racist curriculum and we cannot build monuments and honorariums to a history blood-soaked and tear-stained from African-American slaves. So continuing to keep a name such as Robert E. Lee for school is totally contrary to all

126of this. We have to elevate black voices and people. Let's rename this high school to Etta Bowles-Strozer. She turns 104 on June 27th. She attended the first African American school in Fairfax County and is the first black woman hired by FCPS. I believe to correct the wrong that has gone on, FCPS should honor all of the constituents and students who are African American by elevating her. I also want to say that it's an insult to veterans in my family and who continue to serve our government with honor and distinct. with distinction by saying people who are, because I heard some of the other testimony that some of the veterans would be, Robert E. Lee fought and is an army veteran. I think that's a slap in the face of people in my family who are

127black and who serve and continue to serve in the military and for our government. I also want to say that black lives do matter. The emphasis is important and is necessary because of the constant de-emphasis that we have both in the schools and in the country. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Thank you, Pamela. We're moving on to number 72, Brian Graham. 72, Brian Graham. I'm here. I'm trying to share my video. Okay. I can hear you. Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Brian Graham and I'm the chair of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. I want to thank the members of the board and the staff for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the more than 1,000 Fairfax County residents who are members of our organization. The renaming of Robert E. Lee

128High School is overdue. We are fortunate to be at a turning point in American history where the awareness of systemic racism in our country and in our community grows every day. The context of the naming of this school is the context of most monuments to Confederate leaders, dedicated during either the expansion of Jim Crow in the late 19th and early 20th century, or the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This high school was renamed to honor Robert E. Lee mere weeks before the famous March on Washington in 1963, where Martin Luther King Jr. called for an end to racism. I cannot fathom what goes through the mind of a student when they are taught history lessons about a general who led a war to maintain the state's right to slavery of a people

129who look like themselves when that school is named after the same person. But Fairfax County Public Schools has subjected generations of black students to that experience. We do not need this name to remember the many parts of our history that are shameful. We have an education system that can do that with the hopes of empowering the new generation with knowledge and skills to break down barriers and succeed as members of a diverse community. Last year, our organization made the following resolution, and I will ask this again of you today. The Fairfax County Democratic Committee encourages the Fairfax County School Board to rename Robert E. Lee High School because of the timing of its naming and its ties to the Confederacy no longer reflect the values of Fairfax County. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Graham. We

130now have a number 73, Dan Dolan. Hi. Can you hear me all right? Yes, we can. All right. I'd like to thank you for allowing me to speak today, and thank you to the school board for taking public comments on the issue. As you've heard by now, Lehigh School was opened and named in 1958. The time then is vastly different from the landscape now. The demographics of Lehigh School are different. The public sentiment towards dissolved confederation is different and the political climate is different. In 1958, the racial climate in Virginia was one not of comforting embrace, but rather a hotly antagonistic and contentious environment, which is looked back upon today with a great deal of shame and frustration. Now we as a community and you as an elected order have the luxury to look past

131the decisions and correct the wrong. It is wrong to continue to embrace the Confederate cause with rose-colored glasses. It is wrong to continue to subject these eloquent students that you heard here today to the continued shadow of enslavement and racism. But it is okay and it's part of human nature to change one's mind and it's totally acceptable to recognize that something is wrong and to correct it. As someone who can trace their ancestors back from starving Irish immigrants who joined the Union Army to save the United States, I find it appalling that in a few years, I'll be sending my son to a school where he learns right from wrong, which is named after someone my ancestors took up arms against. Look, to the board, this is very simple. We elected you back in November

132to do the right thing and to make it easier for the kids. If we wanted to make their lives more unnecessarily complicated, we would have voted for the opposition, but we didn't. We voted for you. So this is your time to do the right thing, and I truly believe that in each of your hearts, you know the right thing is to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School. The kids have even told you this much. Robert E. Lee IV told you this much at Governor Northam's press conference on June 4th. Let's continue to look forward as a county and not backward. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Dolan. We're moving on to number 74, Saad Shah. Saad Shah. S-H-A-H. I may not be saying that correctly. Okay, moving on

133to number 75, Larissa Katz. Did I hear her? Ms. Larissa Katz, number 75. Number 76, Shamima Rahman. Number 76, Shamima Rahman. Number 77, Saadia Abbasi. Number 77, Saadia Abbasi. Okay, number 78, Tony Gross. Hi, my name is Tony Gross. I'm an Air Force veteran, former NSA analyst, and I'm a current public school teacher and a Fairfax County resident. So my whole life has been spent serving the public. As a teacher, I truly hope for all of our students to be able to attend a school they can be proud of. We're charged with creating a space where students feel welcome, where they can thrive, build trusting relationships, and yet we're asking our students to attend a school named after a Confederate general, a slave owner, and a traitor. These students have spoken so powerfully about this

134topic. It's time for us adults to step up, open our minds and hear their words. This step is symbolic of a larger issue in the United States. And this would really move us in the direction of healing rather than hurt. We can follow in the steps of our neighboring schools. Use names that inspire like Benjamin Banneker or Duke Ellington or Kelly Miller. Use names like Maya Angelou. or Cesar Chavez. The names of Stoke pride in our amazing Americans. Robert E. Lee is not one of those. Names memorializing the Confederacy have no place in our public spaces. It's 2020. This school belongs to the next generation. They're smart. They're way smarter than we give them credit for. They're capable, proud, and we need to listen to them. Finally, I've collected more than 500 signatures from Lee

135District residents, Alexandria residents, Virginians, Americans, and citizens across the globe, all in support of changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School. So I'll be writing that petition to you this evening. So thank you so much for your time. Thank you, Mr. Gross. We're moving on to number 79, Gustavo Manje. Yes, good evening. Thank you, sir. I'd like to start by saying that I live just three miles away from Robert E. Lee High School. I graduated from Hayfield High School myself. Being a local community member, my tax dollars go toward the school in this county. And I am here to affirm that this is a public school. It's not a private school. And therefore, it needs to benefit the public. Robert E. Lee was an enemy to the public welfare. He was an enemy

136to... Obviously, even the union of this country and of course to African Americans historically, we cannot honor the enemies of public welfare. So another thing to say, historical fact about him, I mean, even during this time, supposedly he was a relative of the Washington family. And yet even during that time, he decided to side with the South because of a sentiment, a geographical sentiment of being a Virginian. and all of his peers and including his mentors told him that that was a big mistake. And he still did it. Why did he do it? Because of some geographical sentiment. Those people here that want to keep the name as it is, they also have a sentiment. The school they went to, this social sentiment of the school. But those sentiments are completely irrational. you have to

137think with some kind of logic and logically speaking a public school has to be a friendly environment for all students especially those that are vulnerable like students of color now i'd like to propose that the school be renamed Loving High School in memory of the loving couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who in 1958, which is the founding year of the high school, they were arrested because they were an interracial marriage. But thanks to them, the Supreme Court voted that it is illegal in Virginia to charge people because they're in an interracial marriage. So name the high school after them when in 1958, they were almost put in jail because of that. and call it love in high school because those are real Virginians. Those are real Virginians who fought against this sort of racism, who

138lived up to their values, and who gave a huge moral example to the society that not only is it okay to be an interracial couple, but that we're willing to fight for this to be okay for all. So thank you so much for hearing me today, and I congratulate all of the students that are doing such amazing work. changing the name of their high school and also changing communities. Thank you. Thank you, sir. We're going on to number 80, Payal Haveri, JH. Payal Haveri. I am a... Payal. Yes, thank you. I'm a class of 94 proud alumni of Robert E. Lee High School, and I'm a current resident of Lee District voter and taxpayer in Fairfax County. And I'd like to reiterate my support for this initiative to change the name. It is long overdue.

139I've spent 26 years rolling my eyes every time I said the name of my high school and told someone where I went to high school because it was kind of a joke and an acknowledgement of the racist legacy of the name of Mr. General Lee, as it were. And it is a long overdue change. It's time to make the change that I just want to believe. support the school board in making as you make this decision to go forward and to bring up a point that one of the previous speakers said, which was to state that there should be a democratic vote on it. I believe the voters of Fairfax County have spoken by electing your school board. You are all duly elected members of the Fairfax County School Board and we trust that you

140will make the right decision in this case. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for being here. We're going on to 81. John Oliver. Yes, I'm here. Okay. Yes, hi. Quick question. Are all the commissioners on here? Because I don't see them on the group. You mean the school board members? I can't see all of it. I'm trying to make sure I call the right people, sir. Yes, sir. They're on here. Is the school board members on here? There are a number of them, sir. Okay, great. Okay. You've got three minutes, sir. Okay, good evening. To the school members, I hope you had a chance to review the petition signed by 720 Lancers asking you to not change the name of our high school. Beyond the historical figure's namesake, there's also the six

141decades history of the school itself and the many legendary educators who dedicated their life to shaping young minds at Lee High School. Names like Jim England, Jack Bodden Gardner, and Principal Bill Jackson. What about their history? What about the tens and thousands of alumni who don't want the name of their high school changed? Our schools have failed to teach history, as most are misinformed on who Lee himself was. Before his name has been tainted by the uneducated, he was considered a great Virginian. I know some of you are not originally from Virginia. Think about that for a minute. To move from another state and to proceed to disrespect the history of your adopted state, some would say that's quite arrogant. Have you taken the time to truly educate yourselves on who this historical figure really

142was? Or are we just going by the current smearing of a great Virginia? I won't list all the great things Lee did because it will take much longer than three minutes. If you care about history, and as educators you should, you can read for yourself. Ms. Derenak-Kofax was quoted in a few papers saying, to be transparent, there's been no groundswell of advocacy within the League community to take this action. Based on that statement, at this point, you'd appear to be jumping on the bandwagon to proceed with the change. THIS IS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH HISTORY INSTEAD OF HIDING IT. I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE SET ON CHANGING IT, HAS THERE BEEN A NEW NAME THOUGHT THROUGH OR IS THE COLLECTIVE THOUGHT ANYTHING BUT RE LEE? WOULD YOU KEEP LANCERS? IS A COMPROMISE ON

143THE TABLE? LEE, SIMPLY LEE, WITHOUT THE RE. IT COULD BE HARPER LEE, SPIKE LEE, BRUCE LEE OR MANY OF THE OTHER FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH THE LEE SIRNAME. If you change it, this shouldn't be a hooray for our side victory. The right thing to do is to leave it alone or find a compromise. Thank you. Thank you, sir. We're going on to number 82, Anthea Guzman. 82, Anthea Guzman. 83, Bethany Gardner. Number 83, Bethany Gardner. I believe I'm supposed to help with the session at this point starting with number 83. All right. There you go. Thank you so much. All right. I'm Tammy Deren at COFAX and I'm the Vice Chair of the Board and I represent Lee District. We are number on speaker number 83, Bethany Gardner. All right, going on to speaker number 84,

144Rachel Peterson. Ms. Peterson? All right, going on to speaker number 85, Russell Jins. Speaker number 85. Going on to speaker number 86. I'm here, I'm here. I just had to turn my mic on. Russell Jins? I'm sorry, Russell? Yes. Yes, all right. All right, thank you. Can you see me? Okay, well, I'm Russell Gins. I am a resident of Fairfax County. I am delighted that a name change is being considered for Robert E. Lee School. That's because currently it's embarrassing. It's unworthy and hurtful and definitely hurtful to make all our girls and boys to have to wear shirts and display logos and cheer for the name Robert E. Lee. Let's not kid ourselves. The name Robert E. Lee is synonymous with slavery. If you look him up, first and foremost, you'll find that Robert E.

145Lee led an army with the singular purpose of breaking up the United States of America. And he did this to help set up a new country in order to preserve slavery, the practice of capturing, selling, and enslaving other human beings. I've heard many people say positive things, blah, blah, blah, about Lee, but ultimately, he fought for something terrible. cruel and awful. I'm personally very happy that General Lee and his army was not successful. And now, in the year 2020, to have a school named after him doesn't make any sense at all. It's embarrassing. Students shouldn't have to shuffle past that name. It shouldn't be up to them to have to either ignore it, as so many kids do, or worse, to have to justify this ridiculous, outdated blotch. And guess what? We change the names

146of things all the time. Places, products, people, roads, buildings, their names can change. We can learn and change and grow and make Fairfax a better place. So I wholeheartedly support changing the name of the school. This is a chance to make our community just a little bit better. Personally, I think one good person to name the school after would be a Virginia woman. Ella Fitzgerald. She was a great and talented artist from Virginia. Ella Fitzgerald was an innovative musician, a philanthropist, an ambassador, and a pioneer in jazz and popular music. She never attacked the United States. She didn't try to enslave, imprison, or torture anyone. Ella Fitzgerald didn't lead an army that killed thousands and thousands of American soldiers. Ella Fitzgerald didn't lose a war launched against the United States. Ella Fitzgerald was not a

147traitor. Of course, she is just one of thousands of Virginians who are worthy of being celebrated. Worthy. Lon Myers was worthy. Patsy Cline was worthy. Charlotte Zolotow was worthy. Lewis Temple was worthy. The Lovings were definitely worthy. Friends, neighbors, students, teachers, you all know it. The school has named us worthy of you. Thank you so much, sir. I appreciate it. I will let to... familiarize people with our rules of public hearing. If you are not here when your name's called, we call it twice. And after that, what we will do is we go to the end of our session and then you have the opportunity to speak after that. So we are at speaker number 86. We have 124 speakers tonight. And so after I go from numbers 86 to 124, we will then call

148again the list of people who were or not here for the first time. So your opportunity has not been lost. Number 86 is Loretto Martinez. All right, number eight, Loretto Martinez. All right, number 87, Shane Martin. 87 is Shane Martin. Going to speaker number 88, John Millward. John Millward. All right, speaker number 89, Aaron Wilkowitz. Aaron Wilkowitz. Speaker number 90, Chris Kinsley. Chris Knisely, I'm here. I'm sorry? Chris Knisely, I'm here. Oh, I'm sorry, sorry. You're fine. If you got it right, I'd be shocked. Thank you so much. Go ahead. My name is Chris A. Knisely, and I'm here today to implore the board to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School. I'm a biology teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools and a resident of Lee District. I'm also a doctoral student in

149diversity and equity and a huge history nerd. And as a history nerd, I want to share with you a couple of stories from our nation and region's history. The first ever monument in what is now the United States was a statue of King George III erected in the Bowling Green area of Manhattan. On July 9th, 1776, the statue was torn down after residents heard New York's first reading of the Declaration of Independence. In the years since, we haven't forgotten George III, nor have we forgotten many of the stories of the American Revolution. Our nation's tradition of removing monuments which no longer reflect our values does not result in us forgetting our history or losing our sense of community. While they are not statues, the namesakes of schools also serve as monuments to the individuals for

150whom they're named. The school today known as Robert E. Lee High School was given its current name for the 1965 or in the 1965 school year, the same year FCPS reluctantly desegregated and 10 years after the Supreme Court ordered schools to do so. While the name change is not explicitly mentioned as a response to desegregation, the most overt acts of racism rarely need explanation. The truth is that our country, our region, and our school district have been responsible for the historical disenfranchisement of millions of citizens. And much like a monument to the British monarchy, the monuments to this disenfranchisement deserve to be torn down. While they do not present the following name suggestion as the only viable option, I present it as an alternative approach to the so-called Confederacy among Virginians. I recommend that the

151FCPS school board change the name of Robert E. Lee High School to Elizabeth Van Loo High School. When Virginia seceded from the Union, Van Loo was presented with the same decision as Lee, to remain loyal to the United States or to join the secessionist movement. Van Loo chose to remain a loyal American and became one of our nation's most prolific spies and advocate for the rights of women and African Americans. When Reconstruction was rolled back and ended, Lew was exiled from our Commonwealth's historical narrative and condemned as a traitor. Changing the names of Lee High School to Van Loo High School wouldn't erase history. It would save history. We would be bringing back into public consciousness a woman who used her class and privilege to serve her country and to make the world a better

152place for others. Additionally, Lou is only one letter different than Lee, meaning the initial rollout would be as budget neutral as possible. And the alliterative Lou Lancers would maintain the name and iconography that the community has identified with for decades. Ben Liu is not the only individual worth memorializing. Countless individuals can serve as role models for students and our community. However, it is time that we recognize that the Robert E. Lee is not an example of one such role model. And in Lee's own words, we should obliterate the marks of civil strife and commit to oblivion the feelings it endangered. Thank you for your time. Thank you. We have speaker number 91, Gisella Billet. I'm sorry, please say your name. Yes, I'm Gisela Villareal. Thank you. And I am a former student of Lee High

153School. I graduated about almost a decade now. And thank you for having me here. was trying to locate a name, the faculty and staff at Lehigh School have done so much for me and through the years I've developed professionally and I've... I was trying to reach out to one of the faculty members when I found that this was happening. And I'm so thankful for the opportunity. I am also very empowered and very proud of the students that have been on this conversation. And I am so honored to be going. to be a graduate of the school that you are going to now and where you are trying to make this change because it's not new. When I was in school back then, this was still a conversation. And like some of you are like, I

154don't want that to be in my certificate. I get it. don't like my certificate is filled with skills i was a very good student i graduated with very good honors a bunch of awards you name it presidential all the things that you want in an award right as a student and and and i took every opportunity that the school provided me but that certificate i never displayed not Not because, I mean, it was beautiful in itself, but the name, it weighs heavily. And I love the school. I love the faculty. I made some amazing friends, some great experiences. This is not taking away from that. I'm sure all of the former graduates, whether it was 10 years ago or 50 years ago, we have that connection, but it's not changing that, okay? That's not going

155away. It's just a matter that... that this this needed to happen a long time ago and it's still something that we're talking about which is surprising like it hasn't happened despite how it affects people I've never got to display this and I'm sure a lot of people don't feel comfortable displaying it either. When you apply for a job interview right after high school and that's the first thing, they don't focus on that GPA. They're like, oh, you went to Robert E. Lee. It's just a matter of change and I'm so proud of students that have stepped up and are doing this now. you know from my time we didn't do enough and and you guys are doing enough like you're doing more than enough and i'm so proud of you um i just want to

156point out a few things that um that some people have said Obviously I'm a taxpayer like since the age of 15, if you can believe it, I've always worked for my community. And anyway, we're all taxpayers. And anyway, thank you for your time. I'm sorry I wasn't as prepared, but I just wanna say I'm really proud of the students. Thank you. Thank you. Number 92, Eric Burley. Eric Burley, number 92. All right. Number 93, Teresia Anderson. Ms. Anderson, I see your picture there. I can't hear you yet. Ms. Anderson, we now hear you, so you may begin speaking. Ms. Anderson? Yes, can you hear me now? Yes, I can. Great. I apologize. No worries. Teresa Anderson, Fairfax Education Association, Chairperson for Education Support Personnel. My perspective comes from the experience of one who's attended school

157named after a superintendent who was against integration. I understand his position and his perspective of his time. He wanted to keep the status quo, which meant not sharing resources, building, teaching staff, etc. It was comfortable and it worked for him. But he was forced to integrate and still begins the story of Remember the Titans. In an effort to continue to honor his work, the city of Alexandria then decided to name the high school after him. Imagine the dismay of students who integrated PC Williams, who had to walk into the doors and to a school named after someone who did not want them there. The movie focused on the athletics and the relationships of the athletes. I wish they had continued to further the cause to add a piece to educate us all of Alexandria's history

158during segregation. and even to turn the corner and talk about the profound progress the school and community and city has made since 1972. Beyond many sports and academic awards, my alma mater represents students now of many nations. This progress is a complete opposition of what Thomas Chambliss Williams would have wanted. Despite what he stood for, the school community has thrived to celebrate diversity and at least now opens the doors to all. This connects directly to Robert E. Lee High School, named after a man, of course, all of us know, who led the Confederacy, the Army of the North of Northern Virginia, who fought to keep slavery. The fact that he was against ending slavery should have been enough reason not to name a school after him in the 1950s. Naming a school after him was

159a clear reaction to the times, the perspective, the position, the power of the people who led Fairfax County Public Schools then. Now it's time to reverse the deliberate adverse actions of long ago. Now it's time to right the wrong. Once this name is changed, children will attend a school and be able to champion under a namesake or an ideal that unifies and celebrates people of all kinds. Yes, change is hard. Yes, it could be costly, but it's transformative. Let's all get on the right side of history and just do the right thing. And by the way, I love the loving Lancers. That's a great idea, but I'm not giving too many choices. I thank you for your time and all your efforts. Have a great day. Thank you so much. We are up to speaker

160number 94, Aaron Escobar. Speaker number 94, Aaron Escobar. All right, speaker number 95, Tina Williams. Good evening, school board members. I'm Tina Williams, president of Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. On behalf of my thousands of members, we urge the school board to immediately rename Lehigh School. But this action cannot stop with Lehigh School. All school buildings and mascots that represent hatred and bigotry must be immediately renamed and removed from our schools. Our education professionals and students should never have to enter a school knowing the name on the wall is representative of the support of slavery and the oppression of human lives. These names and images are part of a wider system of oppression and basis for what our country was founded on, institutionalized racism. These systems are found in our schools every day. From the

161discipline pipeline to the hiring and retention of educators of color, our students and professionals of color are disproportionately affected. We know that in Fairfax County, black applicants are far less likely than white applicants to receive teaching positions, even while having better qualifications. Black children and students of color see inequities in our schools and communities. These inequities send negatively coded messages to our children about their own value and self-worth. When children are consigned to learn in aging school buildings, in overcrowded classrooms, that even lack basic resources like textbooks, supplies, computers, and technology. And when the person their school is named after was a supporter of slavery, it tells children their education and futures are not a priority. Building confidence, especially in black and brown students, is essential to teaching and fostering learning at every level of

162the educational system. As educators, we are charged with instilling confidence, expertise, and respect for the rules of good order into our students. We know that before they ever enter a Fairfax County school, Our black and brown students are all too often struggling with compounded traumas of poverty, racism, and violence that result in overt and covert white supremacy. Black and brown families deserve to raise their children in a world that does not traffic in the gross inhumanity of racism. We are at FCPS to pass and enforce anti-racist policies and address the needs of staff and students immediately. It's time for FCPS to support and uplift our staff and students of color, and students and staff in other marginalized communities. Racism, while embedded in the foundations of our country and school system, has no place in our

163society. It's time to right these wrongs. Frankly, it's past time. We urge FCPS to immediately return to high school. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Williams. Number 96 is John Michelle. Next. I'm sorry. Number 96, John Michelle. Number 97, Cassie Mahan. Hi, can you hear me okay? I can, Ms. Mahan. Good. Thank you so much for letting me speak. My name is Cassie, and my daughter, Journey, will be... the graduating class of 2026, what I hope to be the school formerly known as Robert E. Lee. It's time for us as a county and as a community to change the world of all these schools. What does a statue, a monument, or a building named after Robert E. Lee say to the community and to the world that this was a man to be honored? This was

164a man to be memorialized. And that meaning is what is so disheartening about the Confederate monuments. It's because the Confederacy fought for slavery, sedition, and racial segregation. And those are not honorable virtues, nor are they American. No other country honors and statues the losers of a civil war. The reality is men, women, and children were bought and sold by Robert E. Lee. Think about that. Lee's own descendants acknowledged that he was a slave master and a horrible one at that. He bought and sold slaves at Arlington. If you research what Robert E. Lee's descendants think about these statues and monuments named after him, you will find that they themselves want them taken down. If his own family wants these monuments down and buildings that are named after him changed, then let's get it done. I

165don't care how many amazing great things that this general did. He bought, sold, and traded human beings, period. I've heard today many students speak about what it feels like to have the name Robert E. Lee on their diploma. And I believe they're right. That name has left a stain on these kids' diploma the way it has left a stain on America. Thank you so much for letting me speak today. Thank you. We are up to speaker number 98, Laura White. Hi, good evening, everyone. My name is Laura White. I'm an FCPS school psychologist and also a parent. And thank you to our parents and our very eloquent students, so many of whom spoke today and shared what it means to have the name of Robert E. Lee on your diploma. We actually lived in the

166Springfield area and left that beautiful town that we love so much. because we didn't want that name on our children's diploma. Our nation had a civil war that brought an end to the centuries-old practice of slavery. Emancipation should have brought relief to the enslaved, but yet what followed was decades of Jim Crow laws, denial of voting rights, wrongful imprisonment, raiding. burning, torture, lynching, rape, and murder. And many of these crimes continue to this very day. This is a hard truth to take in and one impossible to reconcile with the purported Confederate ideals of bravery and honor. We have to ask ourselves, why do we have so many symbols of the Confederacy throughout our country? Schools, monuments, buildings, roads, the flag. Well, it's often easier to judge others than it is to judge ourselves. So consider,

167why does Germany have no monuments to honor those who fought valiantly in World War II? Why is it illegal to display the flag of that time and the emblem of the German Reich in Germany? Well, after World War II, many truths came to light. The whole world knew that the Nazi movement led to wrongful imprisonment families torn apart, theft, raiding, burning, murder, rape, and torture. These practices may sound familiar. The German people wanted to remember this chapter in their history for all time, but they were sure to leave no monuments to honor it. They did not wish to take the practices of the Nazi Party into their future. Similarly, we must bring to light the truth of the Confederacy and what it really stands for. We have to face the truths of the history of

168FCPS. The FCPS of the 1950s and 60s sought to maintain racial segregation and name schools for Confederates to send a clear message to African-American students that they were not welcome. The FCPS today is progressive school system made of a highly diverse community of students, families, and personnel whose origins are from all over the world. So the question is, should we ever have had a school named for Robert E. Lee? I try to imagine a teenage African-American girl starting her first day at a school named for this man. What should this symbol mean for her? What message would Robert E. Lee give to this young woman about her future? These same questions are just as relevant for all students of all races and all backgrounds. What is the reality of Lee and her diversity? Thank you,

169ma'am. Ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you for your time, everyone. That's okay. That's okay. Thank you. We are up to speaker number nine, Jamie Yarusi. Good evening, Madam Chair and school board members. My name is Jamie Yarusi and I'm the treasurer for the Fairfax County Council PTA. The mission of the FCC PTA is to make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. In the spirit of that mission, aligned with the Virginia's PTA position on this issue, and with the values of community involvement and healing, the FCC PTA is here in support of renaming Robert E. Lee High School. Robert E. Lee was a Confederate soldier and commander of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He fought in defense of the Southern

170states' authority to own human beings as property because they were black. White supremacy was one of his most fundamental convictions. To name schools to celebrate this mark in history is absolutely beyond the pale, considering what the Confederacy stood for and fought to protect. Yet we still have school systems that choose to defend the offensive nature of this through the lens of historical celebration. Currently, 60% of the 140 public schools with names tied to the Confederacy are in four states, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and Virginia. And a majority of schools currently named for those Confederate figures were built or named after 1950, which is also the onset of the Civil Rights Movement and the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. the Board of Education, which ordered desegregation. It is also important to note that 62% of schools

171currently named for Confederate figures have student bodies that are a majority non-white. The same is true for Robert E. Lee High School. During the 2018-2019 school year, only 16.26% of the school, about 260 students, identified as white. This also means that the overwhelming majority of students were students of color, specifically 83.71%. How can we ask a student of color to attend a school built on a legacy of white supremacy and be proud and engaged? It is time for the creation of a shared value in action as much as verbiage in order to represent all of our children. It is up to us to move forward from here with fairness and equity and create a space where our children want to have community involvement. It will provide our students with opportunities to become creative members of

172our community with lasting positive impacts for them, such as skill building, promotion of leadership, building passion, and preparing them for ongoing success and engagement. But to increase involvement, we need to start healing. This means we begin to restore wholeness, repair damages done, and set things right. It means we acknowledge and tell the truth about past wrongs created by systemic racism and address the consequences. It is the only thing that will facilitate trust in building authentic relationships in our community. I cannot imagine a better statement than ensuring the names of our schools are reflective of our community, are reflective of our collective values, and are reflective of scps's mission by committing to changing the name of robert e lee high school and creating a new history for the school thank you thank you so much speaker

173100 tom apker good evening can you hear me yes i can okay good evening my name is tom alker i am the father of four children two of whom are currently enrolled in fcps uh grade school and hopefully will be graduating for students from FCPS high schools. And I would like to have them attend schools named after people who I would like them to emulate, which does not include Robert E. Lee. Also, much more immediately, I am a manager at a technical company, and I need to recruit talent. And it is hard to convince people in mid-career positions to move to Fairfax County when they could end up sending their kids to a school that as many of the students have said does not have a name they want to put on their diploma and

174so i very much support the change in name of the robert e lee school because it celebrates our past in a way that hinders our future thank you thank you speaker 101 sherry holder very cool thank you miss holder Ms. Holder, you may be having some, your beautiful sounding baby may need you. So I will come back to you. No, that wasn't my mic. That was someone else. Oh, that wasn't your mic. Okay. All right. All right. Go ahead, Ms. Holder. Okay. Good afternoon. For 15 years, my family lived in Springfield, Virginia. Zip code 22150. We love the community, but as our children grew up, we vowed to never send our two black sons to a school named after Robert E. Lee. We prayed before our eldest reached ninth grade, the school name would change.

175It didn't. Thank God we had the resources to relocate to another Fairfax County high school. So they would not have to attend a school and forever list their high school alma mater, a person, a brutal slave master. I'm speaking on behalf of the students that do not have the option to move. At Lee's height, he owned 189 slaves. The American Civil War Museum reports he was instructed to free the slaves within five years of his father-in-law's death. We did not free them. Rather, he petitioned the court to put them to remain slaves, not freeing them until days before the Emancipation Proclamation. We fought to continue degradation and intimidation of the entire race of people. Slavery is a part of this country's past, and that should not be celebrated. Rather, one, this country needs to acknowledge

176through apology and atonement. to have a school or any public facility, street, or entity named after you is an honor of distinction. It should be a person that has added tremendous positive value to the state and country. This value should be represented in the quality of their character, deeds, or legacy. Just because someone is notable in history does not make them a positive part of history, worthy of school naming and monuments. Yesterday, on Father's Day, my father, a retired Air Force three-star general who served in the United States Air Force for 33 years, told our family his grandfather was born a slave in 1853 in Muskogee County, Georgia. A sobering reality is he would have very well been bought and sold by Robert E. Lee. We send our children to school. Yes, they'll learn about

177Albert Einstein's contributions, Galileo, Langston Hughes, but we would not highlight someone that was on the wrong side of history. We should not. That is an absolute wrong message to send to these growing minds. We have to break continued systemic racism. To move forward, we must honestly acknowledge the failings of the past and listen to those who feel marginalized. The time is now. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Speaker number 102, Tonya House. Hello, can you hear me? I can hear you and see you. Thank you. Terrific. Terrific. Thank you so much for allowing me to be here to speak with you today. I come to you publicly school educated. I come to you as an attorney who has versed in civil rights law, who has worked throughout my career, both in Congress as well

178as the Deputy Assistant Secretary. for education in the Obama administration. I come to you as the chair of the National Bar Association Civil Rights Law Section. I come to you as the incoming president of the PTA at Springfield Elementary, Springfield Estates Elementary School. But today, I primarily come to you as a mother of two young boys, two young black boys who I will not allow to attend a school that is named after Robert E. Lee. My history as working in the civil rights movement, working with all of those who understand and have fought for the freedoms that we have believed in of this country has promised all of us will not allow me to subject my children. to the devastation of having to attend a school where they, which is named after someone who did

179not want them, who did not believe in them, who does not believe that they were worthy of being part of this country. That is something that I've vowed regardless of where it is that I live, that I would never send them to that school if that were the case. Unfortunately, I have even considered placing them even as a public school graduate. somewhere else if that was the only alternative I have. Because I have the means, I'm able to have choices, but others are not. So I come to you on behalf of all of those who are not able to have those choices. I come to you on behalf of all of those that are the future of this country to say that my children, as much as anybody else, are the fabric. of what this

180country should and can be as we move forward. That we are a diverse society that was built upon many cultures. That having a school named after someone who lost the war. DOES NOT MAKE ANY LOGICAL SENSE IN ANY STRUCTURE OF IMAGINATION. AND I APPRECIATE THE PAST COMMENTS REGARDING THE FACT THAT IN OTHER COUNTRIES WE DO NOT HAVE, WE DO NOT SEE MONUMENTS TO THOSE WHO LOST THE WAR. BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE IN FACT TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD. IN FACT, THE UNITED STATES IS STILL A COUNTRY THAT EXPORTS THE RACIST ATTITUDES. WE ARE SEEING THAT PROLIFERATE IN OTHER COUNTRIES. IN FACT, IN GERMANY. When I was there as part of the UN delegation, I saw the concentration camps, the remnant that looked similarly eerily similar to the camps that we have here. So I

181employ upon you that slavery is a remnant that this society has to move past. And I express and I hope and I appreciate the opportunity to express to you the desire to change the frame. Thank you so much. Thank you. Speaker number 103, Keller Collins. Hi. Can you hear me? Yes, I can, Keller. Hi. Thank you guys for having me. My name is Keller Collins, and I'm a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, class of 2015. I've been listening for a while now, and I noticed a few older alumni stating that changing the name would be disgraceful to them. It would dishonor them. And I'm here to say that I do not feel the same way. I would be honored to have my high school renamed and would gladly buy a new diploma with

182a new name on it to help fund the change. The truth is that these older alumni are all white and they likely graduated before the community's diversification. They did not get to experience the strength and the beauty of Lee's diversity like I did. And for that, I truly feel sorry for them. I also heard a few statements about tearing down statues and renaming things is a bandwagon. I'm here to say that it's not. It's a step towards symbolic change. It's a step towards healing as a country. And lastly, it's a step towards listening to the black and brown communities that we live around. Moving on to a quote from Lee and his testimony before the Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction in 1866. He said, as regards the erection of such a monument as is contemplated,

183my conviction is that however grateful it would be to the feelings of the South, the attempt in the present condition of the country would have the effect of retarding instead of accelerating its accomplishment. and of continuing if not adding to the difficulties under which the southern people favor the truth is lee might have been a great person i've read a lot about him He believed that black lives mattered less than they do. He believed it was a white man's burden to socially assimilate black people from African life to American life. He owned slaves. But at the end of the day, he did believe that it is not right to put up Confederate monuments, Confederate statues. He would not think it's right to have the school named after him because he knows that it contributes to

184all. Sorry. It does not further our progress as a country. It does not uphold the values of the country that we should be working towards. He knew that, and I think we should acknowledge that as well. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Collins. Speaker 104, Gloria Lett. Hi, can you hear me? Yes, I can. Wonderful. As you said, my name is Gloria Lett. I strongly urge the school board to rename Robert E. Lee High School. Racism is a sickness that is truly a pandemic in this country. Recent events have demonstrated, in the most compelling terms, the prevalence of racism and its impact on people of color. The fact that a school in this county is named after a brutal slave owner is a symptom of that sickness. I won't spend my limited time repeating what we

185already know about Robert E. Lee and his legacy. Despite feeble efforts by some to rewrite history, a quick Google search will net abundant evidence of Lee's racism and brutality. After all, this is a man who believed other human beings were chattel, and yet this county allows him to be glorified. I can't imagine anyone thinking an Adolf Hitler high school would be a good idea. but I have lived in a county for 28 years where it has been okay to have a school named after an unabashed white supremacist who owned and brutalized other human beings. I frequently pass the school as I go about my daily life, and each time it is a reminder that as a black woman, I live in a county that is fine with the message that my life and those of

186so many others don't matter. I only imagine what it has been like for the students attending Lee High School. But after hearing from some of them today, I don't have to. I heard real pain and humiliation in their voices. I am, however, blown away by their poise and advocacy. Congratulations to each and every one of you for your passion for justice. It is truly inspiring. I want to add that last year, my Fairfax County property taxes approached $11,000. I don't know about you, but I think that's a heck of a lot of money. Some of those dollars were spent on things I don't support, and guess what? I had to get over it. So for those who have an issue with tax dollars being spent to rename the school, my response to them is get

187over it. You'll be fine. Finally, I will quote from Maya Angelou who said, history, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived. But if we face it with courage, it need not be lived again. I'm asking the school board to have courage and to unapologetically embrace and promote a positive legacy by renaming the school. Thank you. Thank you. We are now up to speaker 105. Brian Kiviat? Kiviat. Close enough. Thank you. So previous speakers have spoken about history and choices, so I'm going to address some of those same issues. If you read the words of the articles of secession of the slaveholding states, the cornerstone speech given by Confederate Vice President Alexander Stevens, you'll understand what the South is really fighting for. Stevens stated, and this is a quote. The new constitution has put at rest

188forever all the agitating questions relating to a peculiar institution, African slavery, as it exists amongst the proper status of the Negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson, in his forecast, had anticipated this as the rock upon which the old union would split. He was right. What was conjecture with him is now a realized fact. Those are the words of the Confederates themselves and not opinions of people like me or others. This is what they stated themselves. The Confederacy took up arms against their own country to keep African-American human beings as property. So now let's talk about Robert E. Lee and the choices that he had to make. Robert E. Lee was a United States Army officer. Upon commissioning and at every promotion, an

189army officer takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. When R. R. Lee was commissioned, he swore the sacred oath, and again, at every promotion. But in 1861, he chose to denounce the commission in the United States Army to take up arms against his own nation. That was a choice to fight for slavery. Many others didn't make that choice. Over 30,000 Virginians fought for the United States of America against the Confederate States in the Civil War. Robert E. Lee chose not to be one of those patriotic Americans, patriotic Virginians that fought for the United States of America. Robert E. Lee chose to fight to defend the right to own human beings, African Americans, as property. Robert Lee led an army into many battles and

190responsible for the deaths of thousands of American Army soldiers, United States soldiers, and Confederates. Robert Lee was a traitor who denounced his commission in the United States Army and his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. As a Caucasian, I can't fully understand the feelings of indignity and disrespect that my African American fellow citizens must feel every time they see a school named after a man that fought to keep their ancestors as slaves. For these reasons, Robert E. Lee should not be honored by having a name on a Fairfax County school. A great man once said, the arc of history bends towards justice. It's time for us to give that arc a little nudge. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Thank you. We now are at speaker 106, Philip McMahon.

191Yeah, Philip McMahon. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Philip. I'm a proud alum of Lee High School. I graduated in 2008. Since graduation, I've actually moved away from the area. I've been living out of state for the last 12 or so years, but I've just moved back to Fairfax County, to Springfield this week. I will say that I said I was proud in the beginning, but when I have to tell people where I went to school, it is not a proud moment. It's something I usually whisper or mumble because I know that with saying where I went to school is going to come a sense of judgment, maybe a smirk, maybe a jeer, especially when it comes in the context of me having just explained how progressive my hometown is and

192how progressive Northern Virginia is. I will say that I do feel a lot of pride for the students that I heard speak at the beginning of this call. Those who are writing seniors at Lee High School, hearing them, one, have this critical lens of being able to be critical of the institution that they are in right now, as well as having the ability and desire to navigate power to advance the change that they are seeking. That is incredibly impressive. It makes me very proud. I'm ashamed though that they have to utilize those skills that they have built and learned over time over something like this, right? Imagine what things are going on in the world that they could use their superpowers for. The fact that they have to use it to speak and advocate for

193something that could have been changed decades ago is an embarrassment. I've heard a lot of people share It's this idea that holding one person accountable for one thing means that everyone is in fear of some sort of unfair judgment coming towards them. A myth often used by people who are in power with a lot to account to, not surprising those who have been using that defense of keeping the name the same. But to me, you can have a firm moral line and it doesn't cause a slippery slope. Certainly. If you had a partner who was very messy, you might say it's worth keeping them around even though they have this flaw. If that same partner kept slaves. might be a good idea to move on and find someone else. And I think that's what we

194can do for the name of our high school. I want to acknowledge that a lot of people who are bringing up these ideas of valor and dignity of Robert E. Lee are doing so because they learned in the school. I learned the same lessons in Virginia in elementary school. It's part of the reason why I didn't have the critical lens that I think I wish I had when I attended that school. but it's okay to learn from that history. And I think actually what we have an opportunity to do is learn not only from... Yes, it is. But thank you so much. Speaker number 107, Paul Lee. Mr. Paul Lee. Speaker number 108, Elizabeth Allman. Yes, hello. Good evening. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I'm going to be brief, just

195because I am a member of... the Braddock District within Fairfax County. I am a parent of three boys in elementary school in the Braddock District and I just wanted to call in and give my support for renaming Robert E. Lee High School. I believe it's really important, especially at this time, that we do this, we have it done quickly and so that we can move on to some of the other issues that are raised so eloquently before the speakers. In particular, I just want to, you know, highlight speaker number 95, Ms. Williams, what she was talking about, that FCPS begins to really implement anti-racist policies throughout all areas that have to do with our students, our children within FCPS, including hiring practices, forming a curriculum that supports anti-racist learning and then providing equal support and

196funding across the entire county. It is time for these issues to be taken into consideration and to really be acted upon. I also wanted to highlight the moving words of the students at the very beginning of this session who go to Robert Ely High School, some who didn't, and some of the graduates. I am so, so... thankful for their voices and I want to amplify what they're saying and what they're experiencing and it is time as adults that we get on board with these these same movements within our County our society our nation so thank you very much for this opportunity and have a great night thank you we are up to speaker 109 miss Emily Lewis Emily Lewis Speaker 110, Kirsten Criddle. Kirsten Criddle. All right, speaker 111, Jeanette DeJulian. It's DeJulian, thank you.

197Can you see me? Thank you. I can hear you. Yes. Thank you. Yes. Hi, my name is Jeanette Davis DeJulian. I am a current Springfield resident, and I have been for the majority of my life. I went to Forestdale, I went to Key, and I am a 1989 graduate of the high school that sits on Franconia Road in Springfield. My mother and father went to Lee High School. My husband and his family went to Lee High School. Finally, my German-Nigerian daughters are in the Lee High School classes of 2024 and 2029. They would be the third generation of Lancers in my family alone. I have strong ties to the school. But let me make this clear. And please hear me. Let us stop talking about this and change the name. I just wanted you to

198know where I'm coming from as an older white alumni while I speak. While we are all aware of the history of Lee, it's unfortunate that the school was renamed in 1963 by request of Lee Student Parent Teacher Association. That was obviously the pulse of the community at the time. It was absolutely ignorant. While the time the time is now to remove the association of Lee High School with the Confederate general that is currently named after I stand by the name change my family stands by the name change and this is why we're here so school board change the name In the spirits of transparency, I do need to admit that it appears I grew up under a mushroom in Springfield. When the discussion of changing it started years and years and years ago, I had

199personal reservations. I was one of those ones who didn't want my history to be changed. I believe that sometime I signed the petition mentioned by Mr. Oliva. How privileged was that? How sad it was that I didn't empathize immediately with the pain that it caused my friends, classmates, neighbors in my community. Over the years, thank God, I have opened my eyes and I've opened my ears. And I know that I will never understand what it's like to be a person of color, but I will use my voice to make it known that it is not okay to have a school named after a Confederate general. We are better than this. Springfield is better than this. School board, change the name. Listen to the testimonies of Ms. Boateng, Ms. Alizar, and all the students who spoke

200earlier. Listen to Pastor Ramey. Listen to Ms. Holder and Ms. House. If the pulse of the Student-Parent Teacher Association was enough to change it in 1963, there should be no question now, no question that it is the right thing to do to rename our school. School board, change the name. Also, in the continued spirit of transparency, I also don't know what to feel beyond that. Once you vote to change the name, I know a new name will be chosen. And while there's a part of me that would like it to remain, just leave. We can vote for Loving High School. I'm done. Thank you. We are up to speaker number 112, Lisa Devine. Ms. Lisa Devine. All right, speaker 113, Teagan Wilson. Teagan Wilson. Speaker 114, Nargis Bajaghila. And I apologize. Nargis Bajaghila. Speaker 115,

201Carissa Ruano. Hi. Can you hear me all right? Yes, this is Miss Ruano. Yes, my name is Marissa Ruano, and I'm a First Generation Latina taxpayer. I lived in Virginia for 28 years. I attended Garfield Elementary School, Kew Middle School, and I'm a Lee High School alumni, class of 2010. At age 23, I earned a master's degree in social work and have since worked for the federal government. In light of our current times, we're reminded every single day of the senseless murders of Black people in this country. It is humiliating to know it's taken this long to address the name change and even more embarrassing to know that it is still up for debate. This conversation is long overdue and the time is now. For decades, LHS has been proud of its reputable diversity and

202body, but how ironic that Lee himself was a slave owner, a white supremacist. By 1964, the name was officially changed to Robert E. Lee High School. Those who elected this name did so knowingly of its cruel impact. There hasn't been rhetoric about the dangers of erasing history. To those in favor of this argument, I ask you to justify the disproportionate teachings and representation of Black history in America. Whose history are we erasing? Whose are we celebrating? When do the students who attend these schools see themselves in these institutions? As people of color, we're reminded every single day of the horrific history of this country that continues to repeat itself. We have the power to end this cycle. We do not need to graduate from institutions that commemorate the hate this country has fostered since its

203conception. In less than two weeks, we have collected over 1,500 signatures in a single petition, which is just one of many that demand immediate name change of the school. If after this board hearing a change does not occur, I will go back to our constituency members and notify them that Fairfax County does not care about its black students, and instead rather uphold and celebrate the dark history of the Confederacy. I demand a name that reflects this beautiful, diverse student body, the academic achievements, and the future families it will serve. Every day, I have committed myself to fight for the representation of black people in this country. And I ask, can this school board stay the same? Thank you. Thank you. We are up to speaker 116 and before I announce that name I want everyone

204to know that if you are sitting on this call and you were prior to speaker 116 we will call you once one more time before the public hearing ends and we have 124 speakers scheduled so we are now proceeding to speaker 116 and that's Nadia Howard. Miss Howard? All right, speaker 117, Mindy Strang. Good evening. As an FCPS special education middle school teacher, I want to publicly support this name change. I want to add my voice to drown out voices of hate and racism claiming the preservation of history. I want to support all students' rights to a safe, non-discriminatory learning environment. I want to thank the first speaker this evening, Ms. Kimberly Boateng, for her eloquent letter to this board, which moved me to speak today. I want my students and other students to know

205that their teachers are listening. I want anyone that is not in favor of this name change to understand that they are supporting racism. As others have stated this evening, this school was opened in 1958, four years after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The renaming of this school in 1963 was most likely a racially motivated protest against school desegregation. This is not the history we should be honoring, nor should we be honoring a Confederate general who fought to preserve slavery. To borrow words from the Southern Poverty Law Center organization, quote, while some people see Confederate symbols as emblems of Southern pride and heritage, the question must be asked, whose heritage? The heritage not hate argument ignores the near

206universal heritage of African Americans who were enslaved by the millions in the South and later subjected to brutal oppression under the white supremacist regime of Jim Crow. End quote. Our public schools should not prominently display names that undermine the concept of equality and continue to alienate an entire segment of the population, including the brave Lee students who continue to advocate for the rights we promised them as part of their students' rights and responsibilities. Yet here we are almost 60 years later discussing whether or not the name should be changed. FCPS policy 4910.3 states that the school board recognizes that achievement of its mission for all children in Fairfax County Public Schools depends in no small part on the practice of good human relations and the elimination of discrimination, particularly in the areas of race, sex,

207color, age, religion, national origin, genetic information and disability. The school board therefore places the responsibility for complying with all applicable laws affecting equal opportunity and promoting good human relations on all Fairfax County Public Schools employees. This Fairfax County employee is asking this board to continue to uphold this responsibility and change the name. And I will uphold my responsibility as well. And I want to thank Kimberly Boateng and other Leaf students for reminding me of it. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker number 118, Jennifer Garten. Thank you, Board and Lee students. My name is Jennifer Garten, and I am an FCPS parent. In April 1951, 86 years after the defeat of an armed insurrection against our nation, at a school just a few miles from where the traitorous Lee surrendered at Appomattox, 16-year-old Barbara Johns led 450

208of her fellow students on a walkout to protest the abysmal conditions of their segregated high school. Their protest went on to become Davis v. the School Board of Prince Edward County, one of the five cases reviewed by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, Johns and her fellow students won. They won, but Virginia would spend over a decade attempting to erase that victory. Massive resistance carried out by foot soldiers like Fairfax School Superintendent W.T. Woodson traded upon a tapestry of lies woven since Reconstruction that romanticized the Confederacy. The naming of this Springfield High School, first as Lee in 1958 and then as Robert... Ely in 1964 was the desperate exhale of the last breaths of segregation. In 1959, five years after Brown, the FCPS school board drew up a secretive plan

209that called for desegregation over a 12-year period, one grade at a time. In 1961, the second year of Fairfax's nominal desegregation, the board approved Woodson's proposal to bar black students from varsity sports competition. Robert E. Lee High School was not named to honor a general. It was named to remind an entire people that the county objected to their very existence. In 2017, when this board was considering the renaming of Stewart High School, the Fairfax County NAACP proposed that the school be renamed after Johns. This board declined, opting for Justice, a name obliquely honoring civil rights heroes. But if we have learned anything in our painful history, it is that justice does not simply happen. Justice happens when people, and especially young people, stand up, sit down, walk out, raise their fists, and demand justice. As

210you consider what to rename this school, I urge you to choose a name. Choose to raise up rather than erase. Choose Johns or John Stokes or another student who offered up the safety of their body in the struggle for justice. Choose Otto Tucker, Oliver Hill, Spotswood Robinson, or E.B. Henderson, lawyers and civil rights pioneers whose steadfast determination forced this Commonwealth and this board to abide by the Constitution. Choose a name. Begin the deliberate process of revealing a history that white supremacy has alighted for too long. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Speaker 119, Harbi Olhay. Harbi Olhay. Going on to speaker number 120, Nermeen Abdel Wahab. Nermeen Abdel Wahab. Speaker 121, Guinevere Jones. 121, Ms. Jones. Speaker 122, Michelle Heinitz. Hello. Hello. Hello, my name is Michelle Heinitz and I'm a graduate from the

211Lee High School class of 2015. I'm here today to join in demanding FCPS change the name of Robert E. Lee High School along with all other buildings tied to symbols of white supremacy. Robert E. Lee was a violent racist devoted to white nationalism and the enslavement of black people. By glorifying his name, FCPS is actively celebrating the atrocities committed by white supremacists. The time to change the name of our school is past due. And the fact the name has remained this long and was even named in the first place is truly a reflection of how FCPS fails black and brown students every day. Changing the name of the school is just one step in an ongoing fight for racial justice in our school system. FCPS needs to remove police officers from schools, hire more black

212educators, get rid of the revisionist history lessons, and teach more black history. It is a problem that students can graduate from Lee High School and believe Robert E. Lee was a moral person or that the Civil War was about protecting state rights and not about protecting the institution of slavery. This is a reflection on both the failings of our curriculum and the people responsible for creating and teaching it. FCPS needs to redraw the school boundaries and stop allocating predominantly white and wealthy schools all the resources, which disproportionately affects schools like Lee High School that serves a diverse student body. Finally, FCPS needs to invest in educational environments that promote the safety, well-being, and futures of black and brown students. And changing the name of Lee High School is a non-negotiable first step. Thank you. Thank

213you. Speaker 123, Jackie Mendez. Speaker 123, Ms. Jackie Mendez. And speaker number 124, Farhan Chokhtai. That's close enough, Chokhtai. Tell me how to say it. Thank you for having me. Well, first off, I want to say congratulations to the 2020 graduates. My name is Ferhan Choktai. I am an alumni from LHS class of 2008. I received the highest level of education at LHS. I represented LHS at the national and state level, received a number of awards, and I'm thankful to all the teachers and the education I received. However, I was embarrassed by the name then, and I'm more embarrassed that I didn't speak up then. This name is not a reflection of our society. You know, I heard a number of arguments from past alumni about, you know, their beliefs and their sentiments towards the

214name. The name of the school does not reflect the memories you have at that school. But what this name does reflect is systemic racism at its core. It's problematic. When I graduated LHS, they said, you are the future. Well, I'm not the future anymore. The current students are the future. So I think it's time that we listen to our future. We listen to the students that attend LHS now. We listen to the students that will be attending LHS. It is a diverse student body. It is a different school than it was 30 years ago, than it was 10 years ago. It should have been changed decades ago, but here it is today. So all I ask is that we listen to the students now. We give them the authority that when we say you are

215the future, we also give them our ears and our voices and our actions. Thank you so much. Thank you. I am now going to go back to our listing of people who were no-shows at the time that their names were read, and we will give you one more opportunity to speak. So I will start at the beginning of the list. Listed as speaker number one, Jameson McIntyre. All right. Speaker number seven, Kevin Flores. Speaker number eight. Amaru Fofana Ducore. Yeah, I'm here. How are you doing? I'm good. How are you? Can you hear me? Yes, I can. All right. Please go ahead. Hi, my name is Amaru Fofana Ducore. I am a rising senior of Robert E. Lee High School in Spaceport, Virginia. And I'm supporting the name change of Robert E. Lee High School

216because I am tired of being represented by a slave owner. And I hope I don't get the name on my diploma next year. This school and community is very diverse for us to be represented by persons that fought to divide and ruin America. And for our high school alumni of this school that disagree of this name change, please think twice. I feel like the board should listen to the students because we are the future and you could really hear the pain in our voices and minds. And my choices of the school's names are Liberty or East Springfield High School. They keep the lancers. Yeah, that's all I have to say. All right. Thank you for being here tonight. Appreciate it. Thank you. Going back to our list of no-shows, Andrea Grace Mukana, you were speaker

217number 15. All right. Speaker number 19, Johanna Olson. Speaker 20, David Oliver. Speaker 20... Betty Solomon. Speaker number 26, Alia Ramsey. Speaker number 29, Blen Ghazanhen. Speaker number 31, Vanessa Clay McIntyre. Oh, okay, Mr. Ghazanhen, I see you are here. So I will go back to you. Please go ahead. Speaker number 29, Blen. I saw your hand up. I see you there. Please put your mic on. And I see you must be having technical difficulties. So I will give you one more chance. But I'm going to go on with the list at this point. And the next person I have is speaker number 31. I said Vanessa Clay McIntyre. All right. Speaker number 33, Dennis Payne. Hello. Hello. Yes. You go ahead. You are Dennis Payne? Yes. All right. Thanks for the time. As a

218lifelong resident of Northern Virginia, graduate of West Potomac, I enjoyed competing against Lee over 30 years ago. And now I enjoy cheering for Lee as my son is a student there. Until just, Lee's been a symbol of the community for over 60 years. And until just recently, I've never heard anything negative about the name. General Lee was a beloved resident of Virginia, a hero. Everybody's talked about it. Everybody knows he was a Confederate soldier, Confederate general. Yes, he was a Confederate. He was, I'm sorry. Lincoln gave him first choice to be the Union soldier. He didn't want to turn his back on his home state. Generally, what most people don't know is he probably, he never fired a shot in the Army. He was quoted as saying he didn't think slavery was right, but he

219thought that The blacks were probably better off in America than they were in Africa. He made sure that any body of color that fought for the Confederates were taught how to read and write to better improve themselves. Lee High School is located in the Lee voting districts. Our swim team and our dive team perform their home meets at the Lee Rec Center. The first major roadway in Northern Virginia is Lee Highway. I guess what I'm getting at is everything in the area is named after Lee. So if we're gonna change the name, why don't we just drop the Robert E and keep it as Lee? And thank you for your time. Thank you. I'm gonna try number 29. I see you're still there. Blen, are you available to speak? Is your mic working? All right,

220that's me. All right, we're going to go to speaker number 34. Case Utley. Hi, I am Casey Utley. I am a Fairfax County Schools parent and a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice Northern Virginia. Like many of the speakers here today, I'm here to reiterate the call to immediately rename Lehigh School. Since the case for renaming has been and will be articulately made by community members of all ages, I want to take the rest of my time to address the fact that it's taking the board way too long to make these changes. Removing symbols of white supremacy from our schools and communities is what activists call low-hanging fruit. These are supposed to be fast fights, the no-brainers. But time and time again, the school board insists on a protracted process that frustrates the community

221and makes us wait even longer for justice that should have been delivered decades ago. Prince William County School Board recently announced a commitment to move quickly on renaming schools there. Why aren't we moving with such decisiveness? In the past year, this board laid out a process for teacher renaming that may take each school under consideration as a separate issue. You have the list of names that need to be changed immediately. Why do them one at a time? The supposed community input process only subjects black and brown families to organized hate in their communities. Every time we have one of these engagement sessions, white people show up and spew the same racist diatribes over and over to justify preserving the legacy of the Confederacy and enslavers. Every time black and brown students from the schools in

222question are forced to occupy spaces with adults whose arguments get the legitimacy of being recorded and equally considered by this board. These processes allow white supremacy to retain a foothold in our institutions of learning. When will we stop this nonsense? I asked the board today to not only rename Lee, but move ahead with the other school names you've identified as harmful. Don't wait. We have so much more work to do to address systemic racism in our schools. Harmful curriculum, disparities in hiring, leading, and learning. We still have armed police in our schools for crying out loud. Stop making it harder than it has to be. Delaying is cowardice. Act with clarity. Act swiftly. It's time to get these hateful legacies off our kids' backs. so we can move forward and build the kind of communities

223that we want and deserve. Black Lives Matter. Thank you. Thank you. Going to speaker number 37, Maureen Brody. Speaker number 38, Kathleen Millard. Speaker number 39, Dixie Ross. Speaker number 40, Kelly Hepron. Speaker number 42, Rosie Oakley. Speaker number 44, Naveed Shah. Speaker number 55, Ed Martricotti. Speaker number 56, Marcia Mantunio. Speaker number 57, oh, I'm sorry. Are you speaker number 57, sir? No? Okay. Speaker number 57 was Ernie Krieger. Speaker number 58, David Hatcher. Speaker number 61, Jim McDonald. Speaker number 64, Scott Travis. Speaker number 65, Douglas Livermore. Speaker number 66, George Alper. Hi. Hi, good evening. Good evening. Can you hear me? I can, yes. Hi, good evening. Please go ahead. I'm speaking tonight. All right, thank you. I'm George Alper. I'm speaking tonight in support of changing the name of Robert E.

224Lee High School. Mr. Alper, we lost you. Mr. Alper, I will give you a chance, one more chance to go back since you started. Oh, you're back. We just lost you, Mr. Alper. Mr. Alper, I will give you the opportunity to go back because it looks like you're taking a little time to get reconnected, so I will come back. Oh, you're back Mr. Alport. Let's try you one more time. All right. Technical difficulties there. We will come back to you if we're able, speaker 66. All right. Speaker 67, Michael Boulware. Speaker number 69, Joseph Miller. I'm here. Can you hear me? I can, Mr. Miller. Thank you. Great. My name is Joseph Miller, and I support the renaming of Robert E. Lee High School. I'm the president and CEO of the Washington Center for Technology

225Policy Inclusion. I've been a resident of Fairfax County for 15 years. I have two daughters who attend Fairfax County Public Schools, and I'm a member of the Lawyers Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. This is a matter of compliance with the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Ed 1954, which integrated public schools in which the Fairfax County School Board deliberately contravened when it named this high school after Robert E. Lee as part of a series of illegal actions to override Brown. The name of this school is an artifact of that noncompliance and clearly violates the spirit of Brown. I echo Fairfax. NAACP President Sean Perryman's frustration with the school board. Rather than taking affirmative steps to rename Robert E. Lee High School, it instead sat on its hands, waiting

226for one of our citizens to step up in protest. Martin Luther King once said in the end, Martin Luther King Jr., in the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. This board's nonchalance and inaction compromises that sentiment. As many have noted, Mr. Lee himself would have opposed naming the school in his name. In 1869, he declined to mark troops for posterity to commemorate the Battle of Gettysburg. concluding that it would instead be wiser to quote, not keep open the source of war, but to follow the examples of those nations who endeavor to obliterate the marks of civil strife, end quote. The Fairfax County School Boards having put his name on this high school some nine decades later after the war, as part of Virginia's massive resistance

227against integration preserved the Civil War's divisive legacy. I agree with other speakers that hearings like this were a waste of county resources. County schools named after Confederates should be renamed in a single proceeding rather than taking half an evening to rename them one at a time. This should not go to a ballot because the original naming wasn't conducted by ballot. We've delegated the authority to the school board. That's why we pay. where we would draw the line if we started down the path of holding elections for every administrative decision. A number of speakers this evening have argued that the school board should focus on educational outcomes rather than renaming the school. Again, I agree. Having Robert E. Lee's name emblazoned upon the school signage has the same effect on African-American students' psyches. The Supreme Court

228found had the effect on African-American students when schools were segregated. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. That was a direct quote from that majority opinion, which again was unanimous. And I urge you to change the name and change the name of all of these hateful school names. Thank you. All right, we are now up to speaker number 70, Mandy El-Sadi. All right, and just for those of you joining us, we are calling now on people who didn't show the first time, and this is the last opportunity. Speaker number 74, Saad Shah. Speaker number 75, Larissa Kotz. I'm here. Hi, Tammy. Hi, how are you? Good. I'm Larissa Kautz. I live in Lee District, and I have a son who will be growing up going to the public schools of

229Lee District. I'm here to urge you to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School as soon as we can. As Americans, we should never forget our history. It's our moral responsibility to teach new generations about slavery and the war that divided our nation. We've paid for this education with the lives of well over 17 million African-American slaves and more than half a million soldiers, and it diminishes their legacy if we don't remind ourselves of why they fought. However, as many speakers have said today, I'm sure, remembering our history is not the same as honoring it. While Robert E. Lee and his name should live forever in textbooks and our national consciousness, it should never adorn places of honor. It's well past time to officially change the name. Children should not be forced to

230go to school under the name of a man who fought to keep their ancestors enslaved. No child should read in her textbook about what Lee stood for and then walk through community buildings honoring his name. I think the best voices to speak for this change are those of students that are both currently at Lee High School and that are alumni. And so I'm really quickly going to pass it over to Lauren Joyner, who's here with me, who is a recent alum of Lee High School. Hi, my name is Lauren Jordan and I graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 2018. My experience at Lee High School was that the loudest and most influential voices were those of alumni. But most of the alumni that spoke up or showed up were white older adults. Those

231voices were not the majority. My experience at Lee was that of an African American who wanted to achieve high positions in student government and clubs it was an uphill climb with discrimination stereotyping and racist pushbacks change must come from the top and from the most visible and public messages we send the name must be changed for future generations of students to succeed to feel free and to fulfill their highest potential thank you thank you We are now up to speaker number 76, Shamima Rahman. Speaker number 77, Saadiya Abbasi. Speaker number 82, Anthea Guzman. Speaker number 83, Bethany Gardner. Speaker number 84, Rachel Peterson. Speaker number 86, Loretta Martinez. Speaker number 87, Shane Martin. Speaker number 88, John Millward. Speaker number 89, Aaron Wilkowitz. Speaker number 92, Eric Burley. I believe we had John Michel. I

232believe he was not a no-show. Speaker 96, John Michel. All right. 107, Paul Lee. 109, Emily Lewis. 110, Kirsten Criddle. 112, Lisa Devine. 113, Tegan Wilson. 114, Nargis Bahoji. Number 15, Carissa Ruano. Number 116, Nadia Howard. Number 119, Harby Olhe. Number 120, Nerman Abdel Wahab. Number 121, Guinevere Jones. And then finally, I see Mr. Alper still here. I'm not sure if you've got your technical difficulties worked up. Number 66. Yeah, I hope I do. Good evening. All right, go ahead. Hi, I'm speaking tonight in support of changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School. Confederate name, school name. like Confederate monuments and other symbols celebrate and perpetuate the values of the Confederacy, racism, hate, white supremacy, slavery. I remember recently Superintendent Brabrand promised us that, quote, racism and hate have no place in FCPS.

233Five years ago, in June of 2015, led by a group of courageous FCPS students, on changing the name of Jeb Stuart High School. I was blessed to have the opportunity to work closely throughout that whole process with those students and with other members of the community. And so when I heard the students tonight, as I've heard them before, it was for me both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Heartwarming because of their courage and their strength and their compassion and passion. heartbreaking because I kept thinking to myself how many times and for how long do we have to keep doing this? How many times and for how long do we have to keep doing this? Because now two and a half, it took us two and a half years of, let me just politely call it, consideration and

234debate which created as much division sometimes I was thinking as the Civil War itself. before Justice High School was opened and rededicated in the fall of 2018. Now, two and a half years later, we find ourselves once again considering a name change. I'm reminded that Martin Luther King once said that justice delayed is justice denied. Like Jeb Stuart, Robert E. Lee is no hero. like Jeb Stuart, Robert E. Lee, does not deserve to have an FCPS school named after him. We've heard a lot of discussion tonight about Lee's history and everything else, so I won't go over all that again. But let's think for a minute about the myth of Robert E. Lee and how it continues to divide us and trouble us and harm people today. Lee's elevation to near sainthood. THE CRIME IS

235A KEY PART OF THIS 150-YEAR-OLD PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN THAT WAS DESIGNED TO PRENUTS SLAVERY AS THE CAUSE OF THE WAR, WHITEWASH THE CONFEDERATE CAUSE AS A NOBLE ONE, AND ENABLE THE SLAVEOWNING CLASS TO RETURN TO POWER. THIS IDEA OF YOU BEING KNOWN AS THE LAW. THANK YOU, MR. ALPER. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. And I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. If you had technical difficulties or weren't able to get on, please send us your comments. We will be happy to read them. And thank you all for attending tonight's virtual public hearing and for sharing your comments and concerns. The board will vote on a motion to consider the renaming of Robert E. Lee High School tomorrow, excuse me, on June 23rd meeting. If passed... a community meeting to discuss the recommended names will be

236held on July 15th and a public meeting will be held on July 22nd. Action on the new name for Robert E. Lee High School will be scheduled for July 23rd. And I'm sorry if I was unclear, that is tomorrow. The board will vote on a motion for tomorrow, June 23rd. So thank you all for coming out tonight again and this hearing is adjourned.