RICHMOND, Va. — Barack Obama Elementary School is one of seven new names in contention as Richmond Public Schools votes on a new name for J.E.B. Stuart Elementary.
Earlier this year the Richmond School Board voted 8-1 to rename the Northside school that honored the Confederate general.
Students, parents, staff, and community members all submitted ideas for the school’s new name. At a Monday night meeting, the Richmond School Board is scheduled to reveal the top three vote getters among the following seven options:
About 95 percent of the Fendall Avenue school’s student body is African-American. Many of the new school name options represent influential African-American Civil Rights leaders including Barbara Johns, Oliver Hill, and Henry Marsh.
Barack Obama became the country’s first African-American president after he was elected in 2008.
Stuart Elementary is the only school in the City of Richmond named after a Confederate general. Richmond served as the Capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Earlier this year, the City of Petersburg voted to rename three Confederate-named schools.
Effective July 1, 2018, A.P. Hill will be renamed Cool Spring Elementary; Robert E. Lee will be renamed Lakemont Elementary; and J.E.B. Stuart will be renamed Pleasants Lane Elementary.
