SCLC Seeks To Remove Names From Hampton Public Schools

HAMPTON

Andrew Shannon, the President  of the Peninsula  SCLC, has called for the  city of Hampton to remove the names of Robert E. Lee from an elementary school  and Confederate President Jefferson Davis from a middle school, both with Black student populations. Shannon met with Hampton School officials on March 24 to discuss removing the names of the two Confederate heroes on the schools. He said he would forward a letter  outlining SCLC’s position on the issue to school board members this week.

Shannon said a prominent avenue is named for the Confederate leader who burned the city of Hampton near the end of the Civil War to assure that Black slaves and Union forces could not occupy it. Black slaves who were quartered at nearby Fort Monroe after the Civil War did migrate to the burned out downtown of Hampton and founded a community called Slab Town.

“We are very proud of the Governor for vetoing that bill,” said Shannon.  “We know it will resurface, but we plan on being vigilant that it’s vetoed or voted down.”
“These monuments to hate and discrimination should not be on public display on public lands,” said Shannon. “We feel we have a chance to remove those names from those public education buildings in Hampton.”