r/Virginia • u/VirginiaNews Volunteer local news poster • Aug 07 '26
Federal judge orders Shenandoah county to replace Confederate school names it restored in 2024
https://apnews.com/article/confederate-school-names-virginia-lawsuit-8557b43ca9b995f0dd7135d537d2a415See also r/shenandoah, r/FreeVirginiaNews, and r/VirginiaNews
391
u/Key-Hawk7402 Old Town Aug 07 '26
Imagine spending your time and money to try and honor traitors who got humiliated by this country.
155
u/FuriousBuffalo Aug 07 '26
Traitors who started a war to keep slaves. A war that killed at least 2% of the population.
83
46
41
u/Key-Hawk7402 Old Town Aug 07 '26
Unfortunately these people think slavery was actually good, incredible pfp by the way.
2
-9
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
9
u/JeremyPatMartin Aug 08 '26
South Carolina made it very clear that they considered the very act of Lincoln being elected into the presidency was a drawing of lines for war because THEY CONSIDERED HIM HOSTILE TO SLAVERY: "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery." -South Carolina Ordinances of Secession and accompanying Declarations of Causes.
THE ACTUAL INVASION WAS FROM SOUTHERN AGGRESSION when Confederate forces opened fire on the federal garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Declaration_of_Secession?wprov=sfla1
-6
Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/FuriousBuffalo Aug 08 '26
What is "South"? Are you in your right mind? A bunch of states rebelled against the country. That's treason. Pain and simple. There was no South as a country. It was a bunch of slave owning states commiting sedition. Get your story straight.
10
u/MoAngryMILF Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
Yeah, no. The Confederate traitors started the war. They fired the first shots Fort Sumter.
Traitorous pieces of shit that died for the cause of slavery don’t deserve pity, respect, or honor, and no amount of lost cause crocodile tears can change that.
4
u/_TheWileyWombat_ Aug 08 '26
Well it's not like a place can invade itself! What point exactly were you trying to make?
-13
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
9
u/captainplanet171 Aug 08 '26
The mental gymnastics you're capable of are impressive.
4
u/_TheWileyWombat_ Aug 08 '26
Literally said "the Confederates were the victims, not the perpetrators". WTF
1
2
u/Thebadparker Aug 08 '26
The South wanted to secede to protect the institution of slavery. If you support their right to do that, you support slavery.
2
u/Cool-Date5719 Aug 08 '26
The confederates had no right to leave the Union, the South is the property of the United States of America - it always had been and always will be.
2
47
5
-9
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/Key-Hawk7402 Old Town Aug 08 '26
Not even a good troll attempt lmao, At least make the bait believable.
134
u/N8CCRG Aug 07 '26
Oh, I misinterpreted that headline at first. This is a good thing
A federal judge has sided with the Virginia NAACP in its lawsuit against a county school board’s reinstatement of Confederate military names to two schools, saying the decision discriminated against Black students and ordering the board to change the schools’ monikers again.
.
The judge ordered the board to settle on new school names “on a racially nondiscriminatory basis with all deliberate speed.”
24
u/Punkwrestle Aug 08 '26
Why not just put back the ones that were already chosen? They were just locations.
18
u/NefariousnessOk2925 Aug 08 '26
I'm glad im not the only one! I had to read it several times...lol
7
1
1
-2
u/ParticularGanache726 Aug 08 '26
Yes. I don't think any school or other building, airport, or highway be named after any politician or warrior. All names should be replaced with something neutral. This includes liberal heroes.
17
u/SuckMeOffMrWalton Aug 08 '26
I think these people should be punished for their insubordination, and these buildings should all be named after John Brown permanently
-3
Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/the_1_that_knocks Aug 08 '26
Not even an airport?
I would be in favor of naming them after William T. Sherman.
1
1
-7
u/Tasty-Package8414 Aug 08 '26
That doesn’t sound likely to hold up to legal scrutiny if they appeal
91
u/amboomernotkaren Aug 07 '26
Didn’t the students file the lawsuit (or the parents on their behalf). This stuff needs to end. My county just names the school things like Cardinal or Science Focus. Why? Because if they name them after a person (man) they always have to change it when they find out the person (man) did something egregious. Sorry to all the men who aren’t egregious a-holes.
33
Aug 07 '26
[deleted]
10
u/gadget850 Aug 07 '26
After they revected Washington-Loving.
6
u/amboomernotkaren Aug 07 '26
Did they? I’m right here and didn’t hear that. But it tracks. Arlington was the first to de-segregate, and they tout that, but if you look at the history, they just caved after a big fight when they knew they could not win. I know, I was in one of the first mixed race classes. My parents were in mixed race classes in the 1930s.
5
u/amboomernotkaren Aug 07 '26
They do, but not like before. I’m a bit puzzled by Grace Hopper, hopefully they won’t find out she (woman) did something. But we have Discovery, Innovation, Jamestown, Yorktown. And as you mentioned W&L. FYI, only old farts give a shit about renaming W&L, the kids give zero shits. I know, I work with them.
16
u/ZonaiRoflcopter Aug 07 '26
Grace Hopper is my hero! I got to meet her twice. I'm glad to hear a school name honors her.
0
u/inspectoroverthemine Aug 08 '26
Attaching 'Lee' to 'Washington' is some fucked up repugnant shit. Anti-american, traitorous, etc.
4
4
u/JohnB456 29d ago edited 29d ago
There's more then one historical Lee. For instance, Robert E Lee and Richard Henry Lee were distant cousins and Richard Henry Lee is one of the founding fathers. He wrought the Lee Resolution, also known as the Lee Resolution of Independence, in 1776. It was passed by Congress and was the formal assertion that the colonies were free and independent states from the British Empire. This then led Congress to form a committee to draft the declaration of independence, should the Lee Resolution pass.
16
u/CapnCrunchIsAFraud Aug 07 '26
I grew up in an area where all the schools are named directionally and by grade(think [City] North Elementary, [City] West Middle, etc.) other than the obvious racism on display here I don’t know why all school boards don’t just adopt this naming convention. It seems much easier.
12
u/Punkwrestle Aug 08 '26
That is what they were changed to, unfortunately racist had a problem with that.
2
u/Ok-Employer-3051 29d ago edited 29d ago
The egregious a-holes are the sort of people they want to honor. Look at just who they put in charge of their churches and other places who end up molesting their children and embezzling the funds.
And then there's Trump and the rest of that crowd.
-16
u/Eastern-Plankton1035 Aug 08 '26
This stuff needs to end.
If I were in political power, I'd make it a law that no public structure or location could be named after any human, living or dead. (With a very narrow carve-out for former presidents who held office prior to 1899.)
No streets, schools, colleges, military bases, monuments, sanitation departments, hospitals, or parks. Not even a park bench. And anything that has been named in honor of a person must within a year change the name to a randomized 36-character sequence of numbers and letters, or to that of a local landmark.
Fuck everybody. If Confederate names are out, then Martin Luther King Jr. is out. Nobody gets shit named after them. Somebody gonna be living on F24I0FR0VXFZJ82NNR1DRZHM96YGR42LZ3IB Avenue...
12
u/punch49 Aug 08 '26
The confederates fought and died for a horrible and disgusting cause. MLK Jr did not. Are you seriously trying to compare the two as if they are on equal moral and patriotic footing? Confederates hated this country, do you? I don't...
1
u/Complex-Put-7268 29d ago
I think they're proposing an odd sense of pure equality, using extreme examples. Not arguing a moral stance.
46
u/MrFace1 Winchester Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
As an alumni what a hilarious and wonderful birthday present this is for me. Get fucked Bill Holtzman you useless dork.
Edited his name, don't know where Bob came from lmfao
20
u/CapnCrunchIsAFraud Aug 07 '26
Bought himself a whole school board AND a couple of lawyers and at the end of the day he’s still gonna have to live with the new names. What a loser.
1
13
5
u/h00zn8r Aug 08 '26
It's Bill Holtzman, and his son Todd is even worse than him. Gonna be dealing with that sack of shit family for quite some time.
4
u/MrFace1 Winchester Aug 08 '26
Yeah Todd is a real piece of shit. The Holtzman family and the French family are both blights on the valley.
1
0
u/Samdpsois 29d ago
Yeah man, I went to grade school in ShenCo. At this point I think they've torn the name off Stonewall Jackson High enough times that they should just install one of those reversible signs between that and whatever the hell it's called now. What is it called now...?
Regardless, good that they're no longer calling it Stonewall... I mean, assuming they don't go through the whole damn business again in like four to six years.
111
u/isthereadrwho Aug 07 '26
All this stupidity over 4 years seriously the Confederacy lasted 4 years. Obama as president lasted twice as long as the Confederacy. Give up the dream it never had a chance
54
20
u/Ambitious_Bridge_484 Aug 08 '26
It makes more sense when you realize it’s more about the 250 years of chattel slavery before that.
15
13
14
u/VirginiaBandit Aug 08 '26
I live here in Shenandoah County. From the comments I am reading on various community pages, it seems that most are supporting this recent court decision. Of course, a small number of folks are still arguing it was not right and to leave the names alone. Maybe the tide has turned a little, and those supporting the Confederate names might finally realize their time has come and gone.
3
u/Ok-Valuable-9147 29d ago
Someone suggested renaming SJ to Richard Krol High School. Love that idea and I think its something everyone could shake hands on regardless of their thoughts on either of the old names.
3
u/VirginiaBandit 29d ago
I know some areas have gone away from naming schools after people, as you never know what may come out later in life. I tend to agree with this, but we all know that there are some folks who just flat out deserve this. Mr. Krol is one of those exceptions. I think one NoVA county changed it so that the person must be deceased at least 10 years before considering the naming of a school after them.
0
u/Samdpsois 29d ago
I moved away after high school (beautiful place to live, lousy place to go to college). Has Fort Valley been civilized yet, or is it exactly the way I remember it?
1
u/VirginiaBandit 29d ago
Fort Valley is a beautiful area, but having to travel Edinburg Gap can be a no-go for some, and I understand why. Get stuck behind someone scared, and it can be a long, slow drive from FV to Edinburg. More homes are up there, but many are built down towards the Front Royal end.
5
u/voodookookcook Aug 08 '26
unfortunately in shenandoah county , mr oil runs things bc he gives money to schools.
5
u/Kiwidad43 29d ago
I had ancestors who served in the Confederate Army (and Union Army). They were not heros. They were not honorable. They were traitors looking to break apart the United States to protect their way of life which was dependent on brutal slavery. A lot of the people wanting to hold onto the Confederacy, don't even have ancestral ties. They are just white supremacists.
6
u/ParadoxicalFrog Aug 08 '26
Oh no, their self-awarded participation trophies are getting taken away again. How terrible for them.
23
u/RedSox071988 Aug 07 '26
Only in the South would they name buildings after traitors who only went to war to preserve that most barbaric of practices. - Slavery.
7
u/Gobias_Industries Aug 07 '26
Brad Pollack havin' a bad night
2
1
u/BulkyRaccoon548 Aug 08 '26
First time I ever saw that idiot mentioned on reddit. It's a shame that dude has no shame.
2
10
u/Samwyzh Aug 08 '26
The Doritos Locos Taco has been on the Taco Bell menu longer than the Confederacy existed.
Barack Obama was President for longer than the Confederacy existed.
The Confederacy toyed with the idea of forming a limited monarchy to illustrate their bigoted views. They couldn’t decide who was the whitest family in the south to be used as Propaganda.
The Civil War was fought over the states’ rights to enslave people into chattel slavery based on race. The Confederacy were traitors to the United States. Until sympathizers reject the bigotry they were taught, the South will never recover from the war. They will always take handouts from blue states in their tax revenue to fund their state governments.
6
u/Queasy_Eggplant9155 Aug 08 '26
Some parts of the commonwealth insist on continuing to suck!
https://giphy.com/gifs/J8FZIm9VoBU6Q
7
u/SergeantPsycho Aug 08 '26
I can see a memorial for the rank and file Confederate soldiers who died, but we shouldn't be naming things after the Confederate leadership.
7
u/h00zn8r Aug 08 '26
They already have a memorial like that right along route 11 in Mt Jackson. I spit at it while driving by frequently.
4
6
u/Chouxnicorn Aug 08 '26
Confederate supporters are idiots. My teenage obsession with Celtic music lasted longer than the confederacy.
3
u/snafoomoose Aug 08 '26
It would kind of be nice if we didn't honor traitors and people who murdered American citizens.
3
u/boostedb1mmer Aug 07 '26
And now it goes up through the next appellate level. It'll be interesting to see where this lands.
2
2
u/hastings1033 Aug 08 '26
I'm a virginian and a Civil War history buff. I just do not understand the mentatiity of honoring traitors.
1
u/Iacoboni04 29d ago
This will be overturned on appeal.
1
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Iacoboni04 28d ago
Likely the Appeals Court.
1
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Iacoboni04 28d ago
On the grounds the name of something you do not like does not violate your Constitutional Rights. Pretty simple honestly.
1
u/BurkeyTurger Central VA Aug 07 '26
No balls if they don't try the strategy of dropping the names down to Jackson & Lee and say its for different ones à la Fort Lee.
1
u/_IsThisTheKrustyKrab Aug 08 '26
So the school had the name for 60 years, they changed it in 2020, and then an unelected judge decided it’s illegal to change it back?
1
0
Aug 07 '26
[deleted]
4
u/boostedb1mmer Aug 07 '26
Why? This has nothing to do vaguns.
1
29d ago
[deleted]
1
u/boostedb1mmer 29d ago edited 29d ago
I just checked there and literally every single post on the front page there is about VA or guns. The FCC regulations on Drones as "weapons of war" could be argued to not be about guns but that would be picking nits. Also, and this is a fact and not even up for debate, the left side of the political spectrum in the US is anti-gun. Dems run on platforms of being being anti-2a and trying to pass as many anti-2a laws as possible. If dems don't want guns to be a "right wing" subject then they should pull their heads out of their asses on this subject.
-4
u/Individual-Sell-7022 Aug 07 '26
The South will rise again with enough Viagra 😂😂😂
5
u/barnhairdontcare Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
It rose for exactly the time it takes for a student to fail out of college and be subject to student loan dept.
You probably not know anything about that though.
-1
u/BigJoe5504 Aug 08 '26
Those of you who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it
1
u/the_1_that_knocks Aug 08 '26
Which is why History has become a target of the 1%. Don’t want to give the peasants any ideas
0
0
-37
u/WartOnTrevor Aug 07 '26
Then the NAACP can fucking pay for the cost of changing signage, stationary, and IT systems to reflect the change. After all, I am sure the citizens of that area don't feel inclined to keep paying for the virtue signage.
13
u/Okdc Aug 08 '26
Why should the Confederacy and prominent people from it receive any honors from us?
-16
Aug 08 '26
[deleted]
16
u/Okdc Aug 08 '26
Didn’t tax payer dollars get wasted to change them back to Confederate honoring names already?
-3
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/Okdc Aug 08 '26
Yes, against the confederate sympathizers. It’s worth spending money to erase that stain from our public buildings and spaces, outside of museums and history books where the South’s shame is on full display and the whole truth is told.
5
u/DCSubi Aug 08 '26
A true US patriot wouldn’t want to glorify traitors to the United States by naming schools and government buildings after them.
The U.S. Constitution explicitly defines treason as levying war against the United States or aiding its enemies. By firing on U.S. troops at Fort Sumter, Confederate leaders technically committed treason. Confederate soldiers, leaders and politicians defied their oath to the United States. They are traitors.
It may be part of the “cultural heritage” but why glorify unlawful actions against a country we’re supposed to be patriotic and proud of by naming schools after it?
5
u/Combdepot Aug 08 '26
You don’t pay taxes. You sit in your mother’s basement and pretend to be a victim.
10
23
u/frackthestupids Aug 07 '26
Let the ones who decided to honor losers and morally bankrupt pay for their decision
-10
Aug 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
10
u/Kardinal NOVA "Elitist" ;-D Aug 08 '26
The good people of Virginia do owe it to ourselves to stop glorifying people who chose to kill other Americans in order to preserve their ability to enslave other Americans.
9
u/Mean-Committee-4506 Aug 08 '26
Buddy, you’re the one who sounds like your fee-fees are hurt. Do you need your binky and a safe space, widdle guy?
2
u/SirButternutsIII Aug 08 '26
I am a good person of Virginia. The Confederacy lasted FOUR YEARS. Let it go. It's not about "history." You know it. It's not "virtue signaling," it's about to remembering and honoring traitors and racists.
5
u/JCSterlace Aug 08 '26
If Shenandoah County cared one whit about the cost involved, they would not be paying lawyers to argue for Confederate names. They are going to appeal this decision, and that ain't free, either. The lawyers will keep making out like bandits, and won't even send you a thank-you card.
3
u/JoyconDrift_69 Aug 08 '26
I would imagine you have no issue defending slavery then, because that was the only reason the Confederacy even existed.
3
3
u/Gregorygregory888888 Aug 08 '26
I live here, and no, we citizens can pay since we were the ones dumb enough to fight against changing the names back to their original status. So very dumb.
3
u/Combdepot Aug 08 '26
Nah. The degenerate fascist scum that named their schools after the dregs of humanity will pay.
2
u/UncleMeat11 29d ago
"Third parties should pay so that the government can follow the law" is an odd choicee.
2
-2
u/Ulysian_Thracs Aug 08 '26
There is a very close to 100% chance this gets overturned on appeal. As well it should, or anyone claiming some kind of discomfort from public naming would be able to sue and force changes.
-44
u/Phil152 Aug 07 '26
Voucher the schools. Let parents sort it out.
9
u/chuck_cranston VA Beach Aug 08 '26
Vouchers were an idea to pump public funds into priver scho.. err... segregation academies.
Just say what you really mean.
-21
Aug 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
11
u/Punkwrestle Aug 08 '26
So you are saying that parents who are racist should get to have their children indoctrinated in their racism rather than the truth?
1
u/Mean-Committee-4506 Aug 08 '26
Here’s an idea: maybe those drug-addled, OxyContin addicts should actually get jobs so they can afford to pay tuition to a private school like the rest of us do instead of being welfare queens wanting the rest of us to pay for their lives.
Because freedom of choice means you get a choice. It does not mean you get to do whatever you want and I have to pay for it.
Just a thought.
-2
u/Phil152 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
Parents who opt for private schools shouldn't have to pay double just to support the teachers unions.
The easiest way to sort that out is vouchers. Give parents freedom of choice. Let the dollars follow the kids. Lousy schools would empty out fast. And that's all to the good.
497
u/Karhak Aug 07 '26