25 signatures reached
To: North East Independent School District
Replace Robert E. Lee High School's Name to Honor Real Heros
We demand that you rename Robert E. Lee High School, as well as remove any Confederate flags or other racist symbols from campus.
Instead, we demand that homage is paid to those who died in the quest to free themselves from the hands of those sought to keep them as laborers, never as citizens and as property not as people.
We demand that you permanently remove names and symbols of white supremacy.
#HonorThem
The time has come for us to stop honoring both those who fought to preserve the institution of Black bondage as well as those who profited from it.
Why is this important?
We should not have to attend schools or walk streets named after traitors who fought to keep others in bondage or profiteers who grew their wealth and power on the backs of those they saw as less than human.
They are not heroes! Naming institutions and streets after Confederate Generals and slave peddlers contributes to the myth of the noble Confederacy and the romanticizing of slavery as being "not that bad."
This works to harm Black Americans by creating a false perception of just how far anti-Black racism reaches from past actions to present policies. It stands in the way of having honest dialogue about what system level changes need to happen to truly give America the courage to battle entrenched racism and truly become exceptional. It's bad enough that many black youth attend this school and are faced with the reminder of the dark times when they were considered property.
This must end.
It is time that we honor the lives and deaths of those who came before us in the fight for the humanity of Black people.
#HonorThem