The following Letter to the Editor was submitted for publication by Renea Dauntes.
I will never know what it is like to work or study in a school that was initially built where I was not allowed to attend or named after a man who thought I was inferior based on the color of my skin. And frankly, I don’t think anyone should.
No child should have to attend a school that is representative of a traitorous white supremacist icon. It was a Cowards’ Compromise to vote to keep the surname. In the long run, it really is still named after Robert E. Lee- this is no change. It is within the standards of the district to rename a school after the surrounding neighborhood. Park Hills Elementary would be a lovely name for a school and it would eliminate the stigma that comes with the name of a person who rebelled against the nation those students pledge allegiance to each day.
Hypothetically, none of us would ever accept the changing Heinrich Himmler High School to just Himmler High School. It still bares the surname of a man who held despicable beliefs and murdered people for being “inferior.” This is no different.
When I did research in preparation of my public comment to the school board, I noticed the school, as listed on the AISD website, only stated Lee Elementary. Perhaps this was the plan all along, to pretend to listen, make the “change” to placate the people who raised the issue, and then proclaim, “See?! We can change!”
This is a matter of principle. You’re either condoning a school (primarily attended by children from widely varying ethnicities) be named after a man who would argue they shouldn’t even be in school at all because these children lack the intellectual capacity to contribute to society OR you think it’s a smart decision to name the school after the surrounding neighborhood (like many other schools in the district).
This is extremely disappointing and I hope the board members will re-evaluate this decision after realizing they have failed to make a positive change.
