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Two schools which had been named after Confederate generals and soldiers and which changed their names in the wake of the 2020 murder of ,

The Shenandoah County School Board changed Jackson High School to Mountain View High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School to Honey Run Elementary School in Quicksburg, following a board vote in July 2020 and final approval in January 2021.
But less than two years later, a petition was launched to gauge the strength of feeling on reverting the schools back to their original names. 

In 2020, a vote was held to switch the name of Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View, but it is likely the old name could be brought back within months"

In 2020, a vote was held to switch the name of Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View, but it is likely the old name could be brought back within months

General Stonewall Jackson served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and became one of the best-known Confederate commanders"

General Stonewall Jackson served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and became one of the best-known Confederate commanders

Vocal opposition came from community members and alumni with more than 4,000 people signing the petition to switch the names back.

The topic was discussed at length by the six member, all-white school board, during a meeting last week. 

Some new board members felt the decision to change names was rushed and did not take into account the opinions of the community. 
Board Vice Chair Dennis Barlow said those who were in favor of changing the names were outsiders who are 'creepy,' 'elitist' and from 'the dark side,' he told .

He claims the school board's decision to change names in the first place was 'undemocratic and unfair' noting that he believed General Stonewall Jackson to be a 'gallant commander.'

'Most people who vote for elected officials then count on them to do the right thing on their behalf,' said board member Cynthia Walsh who does not believe the names should be changed back.
'We do have a representative democracy. We don't have a direct democracy,' she added.

Turner Ashby Jr. (October 23, 1828 - June 6, 1862) was an American officer. He was a Confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War, left. Robert E. Lee, right, was an American Confederate general best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Moment statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is removed

'Times have changed, the makeup of our schools has changed and I sincerely believe that revisiting the name change is not what's best for kids,' Walsh said. 

'I suggested a compromise: adding a third' option — I did not agree to the name change but I do not think we should change it back — 'and that's where we left it that night, but we didn't vote on it,' Walsh said.

 'In my opinion if you're doing it countywide, you might as well throw the students out because they don't care,' said Kyle Gutshall who was elected to the board in this year is a recent high school graduate.

But other board members were adamant throughout the night that the decision has to first be what's right for the students.

'No. 1 criteria: what is best for kids. The kids we'e going to teach today and the next 25 years,' said board member Andrew Keller.
Rather than make a unilateral decision, this time the board has now decided to poll constituents on whether the names should be changed back. The next school board meeting is set for June 9.
Shenandoah County Public Schools have declined to offer an opinion on the issue.

'It is the responsibility of the Shenandoah County School Board to determine the name of schools, school facilities, and areas of school facilities or grounds in the division. We do not have a comment or statement as a division at this time,' the district said in a statement.

After George Floyd's death, statues, monuments, schools and buildings around the country that had been named after Confederate leaders were suddenly the focal point of racial justice. Since that time, several statues and monuments have been taken down and either relocated or placed into storage. 

There are more than 6,000 student at school run by the school district with more than 75 percent of them white and about 3 percent, black according to
Confederate General Stonewall Jackson's statue removed in Richmond

What's in a name? Virginia schools that moved with the times 
The Shenandoah County School Board made a unanimous vote on the new names for two of its schools on January 14, 2021.
In July 2020, the school board voted to remove the names of Stonewall Jackson and Ashby-Lee from two of its schools’ names in Quicksburg. 

Committees were formed with students, community members, and staff members as the school board narrowed down the possible new names.

The school board voted 6-0 that Stonewall Jackson High School be changed to Mountain View High School, and Ashby-Lee Elementary School renamed Honey Run Elementary.
At the time, it was how the community has rallied and showed their support of name changes. 

Two non-profits even donated money to the schools to be used for the name change with one anonymous donor sending $25,000 for Stonewall Jackson’s name change alone.

Robert Edward Lee was an American Confederate general best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until its surrender in 1865. Lee  was the only president of the Confederate States of America.  

General Stonewall Jackson  served as a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and became one of the best-known Confederate commanders after General Robert E. Lee.
Turner Ashby was a Confederate soldier known as the Black Knight. Ashby wore black to mourn the death of his soldier-brother, and he rode a white horse in battle. 

General 'Stonewall' Jackson: 'Legendary' General and supporter of slavery who died during Civil War

An engraving of Confederate general Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known a 'Stonewall' Jackson, done by the artist Desmaisons around 1850"

An engraving of Confederate general Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known a 'Stonewall' Jackson, done by the artist Desmaisons around 1850

Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born on January 21, 1824, in Clarksburg, Virginia, now West Virginia, and became one of the best known Confederate generals in the Civil War, after General Robert E. Lee. 

He was a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and later an artillery professor. He is said to have acquired his nickname 'Stonewall' at the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, from Confederate general Bernard Bee. 

He became known for his 'legendary' military prowess at Harpers Ferry in 1861, his 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, and the flanking maneuver at the Battle of Chancellorsville, leading to many statues, schools and even towns being named after him across the US. 

Jackson is also a controversial figure. 
Like many Confederate leaders he held anti-abolitionist views that it was 'God's will' that slavery existed, and is known to have owned at least six enslaved individuals. 

Some Confederate historians argue that Jackson was sympathetic to abolition because he took part in a black Sunday school in 1855 and that several slaves reportedly 'asked' to be bought by him to 'save them' from harsher owners in the Deep South. 

Other historians warn that these 'myths' are routinely used to make former slave-owners appear 'benevolent' and to distance the Confederate cause from slavery and white supremacy. 
They also claim that Jackson's participation in black Sunday school could also be viewed as part of a wide-spread attempt at controlling black, religious life.  

Jackson was accidentally killed, aged 39, by friendly fire in Chancellorsville in May 1863, by a soldier or soldiers of the 18th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. 
Who was Robert E. Lee? 

Robert E. Lee, one of the U.S. Army's most brilliant officers prior to the Civil War, turned down President Lincoln's offer of a Union command to join the Confederacy despite personally opposing the secession of pro-slavery states. 

'If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native state?' Lee is said to have replied when offered a senior U.S. command at the dawn of the war. 

In resigning his U.S. Army commission, Lee also expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of a 'Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets.'

For the Confederacy, he commanded the Army of Northern Virginia. 
He had victories in the Seven Days Battles and the second Bull Run, but led the rebels to the pivotal defeat at Gettysburg. 

Lee held off General Ulysses S. Grant from complete victory, then personally surrendered at Appomattox as General in Chief. 
A slaveholder himself, Lee nevertheless expressed conflicted reservations about slavery through his life. In an 1856 letter to his wife, he maintained that slavery was a great evil, but primarily due to negative impact he believed it had on white people. 
After the war, he backed the end of slavery and supported reunification, but said black people 'lack intelligence.' 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10835551/Virginia-board-rename-schools-Confederate-generals-dropping-titles-George-Floyd-murder.html