Debate continues over J.E.B. Stuart High School name change

There was a meeting Thursday night at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church to discuss whether the school's name should be changed. The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to vote on a decision next month. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to decide next month whether J.E.B. Stuart High School, named after a Confederate general, should get a new name.

The issue has been discussed for several years, and there was more back-and-forth about it at a sometimes testy meeting Thursday night at the school.

Last year, the school board established an ad hoc committee made up of people both within and outside the school community to consider a name change.

From that, two subcommittees were formed, one to gauge public support for changing the name, the other to collect arguments for keeping the name.

There was a meeting Thursday night at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church to discuss whether the school's name should be changed. The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to vote on a decision next month. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
There was a meeting Thursday night at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church to discuss whether the school’s name should be changed. The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to vote on a decision next month. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
The possibility of removing the name of Confederate Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart from a Falls Church high school was the topic of discussion at a meeting at the school Thursday night. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
The possibility of removing the name of Confederate Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart from a Falls Church High School was the topic of discussion at a meeting at the school Thursday night. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
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There was a meeting Thursday night at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church to discuss whether the school's name should be changed. The Fairfax County School Board is scheduled to vote on a decision next month. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
The possibility of removing the name of Confederate Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart from a Falls Church high school was the topic of discussion at a meeting at the school Thursday night. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
Thursday’s meeting was sponsored by the pro-name-change group, and organizers said people in the keep-the-name camp were invited but refused to come.

Other people said those people stayed away because they felt threatened.

The meeting promised presentations by those both for and against a name change, and there were handouts detailing arguments by both sides.

But there were significantly more presenters and audience comments in favor of giving the school a new name.

“I run track and every Tuesday and Thursday I walk into the weight room to see a giant mural of J. E. B Stuart painted on a wall in front of me. He’s portrayed like a hero with bulging muscles, a powerful pose, regal face, and red white and blue flowing behind him,” said Julia Clark, a sophomore at J.E.B. Stuart High.

“This sends a message to me that General Stuart and what he fought for is deemed heroic and patriotic. My ancestors being bought and sold like cattle is OK, because J.E.B. Stuart was a patriot,” she said. “We’re such a diverse school, so why isn’t our name something we’re proud of? Something that celebrates our diversity instead of dividing us?”

A member of the ad hoc committee had a different perspective of the name and its meaning.

“We’ve done some focus groups around the school … there was a survey done by an outside group. Ninety percent of the kids know nothing about J.E.B. Stuart,” said Andre Billeaudeaux. “J.E.B. Stuart is the most moderate, balanced confederate officer there is.”

Billeaudeaux wants to find a solution “that meets everybody’s needs, expanding the historic capacity of this school to include heroes of many different races, cultures and ethnicities.”

Michelle Basch

Michelle Basch is a reporter turned morning anchor at WTOP News.

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