JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi school is shedding the name of the Confederacy’s only president and will instead be named for the first African-American president of the United States.
Davis International Baccalaureate Elementary School in Jackson was named decades ago for Jefferson Davis.
The school, which has a 98 percent African-American enrollment, is set to be renamed for Barack Obama in the next academic year, in a move proposed by parents and approved by a majority of students, parents, faculty and staff members.
The PTA president, Janelle Jefferson, announced the planned change at a school board meeting Tuesday.
“The students had overwhelming support for President Obama,” Jefferson told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“The school community wanted to rename the campus to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves,” CBS Jackson affiliate WJTV quotes her as saying.
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About 96 percent of students in Jackson Public Schools are African-American.
Jed Oppenheim, a school board member, said people have been asking for years why three schools in a majority African-American district are still named for Confederate figures. In mid-September, the board authorized the PTA at each of the three schools to set new names. The change from Davis to Obama is the only one approved so far.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mississippi-elementary-school-changing-its-name-from-jefferson-davis-to-obama/