School Board Meets on July 27th to Vote on Renaming J.E.B Stuart High School


On July 27, 2017 The Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) School Board will VOTE on whether they will change the name of J.E.B. Stuart High School. We need you to express your support for changing the name to the School Board.

The School Board is still divided, with some members even calling for yet another delay in the vote to rename the high school. In an attempt to resolve the deadlock a new suggestion was recently made.

On July 17, 2017 the School Board held the second Work Session to discuss renaming the high school. At this second meeting it was suggested that retaining the word "Stuart" in a new name might both potentially save FCPS several hundred thousand dollars in change cost as well as promote reconciliation and healing in the community. Two suggestions were made: 1) rename the school after the entire Stuart family which is reported to have a distinguished history in Virginia including members who were heroes in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, Senators, and even a Governor (no documentation was offered in support of these claims), 2) rename the school after Gilbert Stuart, the renowned portrait painter of George Washington and other period figures.

We believe that these suggestions are not acceptable. Renaming for the Stuart family would continue the ties to JEB Stuart and the values of the Confederacy; Gilbert Stuart has no connection to Virginia or the area other than his choice of subjects for some of his paintings.

The School Board should solicit community input before deciding a new name of the high school, as its regulations require. However, if the School Board decides that the new name should have Stuart in it, we have an alternate proposal. To support the School Board's ideas regarding potential cost savings and community reconciliation, we believe that FCPS should rename the school Alice Jackson Stuart High School. Alice Jackson Stuart was a distinguished Virginia educator and civil rights pioneer. She was the first African American to apply to a graduate program at UVA. Her efforts pushed forward greater access to higher education for African Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Shortly after her death in 2001, the Virginia Senate approved Joint Resolution No. 40 to honor her, and, in 2012 she was posthumously honored as one of the Library of Virginia's "Virginia Women in History" for her life's work. Learn more about her life and contributions:

- http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/...705.xml;query=
- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xM0yh75r6zI

Here is how you can help:
• Join us at the School Board Meetings on July 27, 2017 to show your support. The School Board meeting begins at 7 PM at Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA.
• Email a statement of your support for changing the name to the School Board Members.

Here are links to the email addresses of the School Board Members and our talking points in support of changing the name of the school.

• FCPS Board Member Info
http://files.constantcontact.com/5c4...8bb3eb8bd0.pdf
• Change the Name Talking Points
http://files.constantcontact.com/5c4...c51cafec40.pdf

Here are some tips to make sure your email are impactful:
- Email ALL the School Board Members.
- Put in the subject line that you support renaming J.E.B. Stuart High School.
- In addition to your personal expressions of support for renaming the school, if you are comfortable with the idea of Alice Jackson Stuart please express your support.
- Please exhort the School Board to vote on July 27
- Finally, please tell the School Board that they should involve the community in the selection of the new name.

If you have questions, or need more information, please contact George Alber at [email protected] or 703.628.0377.



Andrea Miller

Andrea Miller started this petition on RootsAction. If there's an issue close to your heart that you'd like to campaign on, you can start your campaign here.



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