Virginia high school named for Robert E. Lee to be renamed in honor of Rep. John Lewis


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, has a new name: John R. Lewis High School.
In late June, the Fairfax County School Board voted to change the school's name so it was no longer honoring the Confederate general. The board spent the last several weeks trying to come up with a new name, and decided to pay tribute to Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), following his death last Friday at the age of 80 from cancer. Lewis spoke at the March on Washington in 1963, and survived a beating by Alabama state troopers as he led a Selma to Montgomery protest march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
"Rep. Lewis was a champion of the civil rights movement, and our board strongly believes this is an appropriate tribute to an individual who is a true American hero," Fairfax County School Board Chair Ricardy Anderson said in a statement Thursday. "We will also honor his life's work by continuing to promote equity, justice, tolerance, and service in the work that we do."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During the recent anti-racism protests that swept the country, there were renewed calls for Confederate statues and monuments to be removed and for schools named after Confederate figures to be renamed. Tamara Derenak Kaufax, a Fairfax County School Board member, said in a statement Confederate values "do not align with our community," and she believes Lewis' "extraordinary life and advocacy for racial justice will serve as an inspiration to our students and community for generations to come."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published