Montgomery Public Schools Renaming Project

Our students deserve schools and mascots that inspire them. Help MPS imagine an inspiring future.  

For many of us, 2020 has been a year for self-reflection, a time for re-evaluating what it means to be a true community member. We have been faced with the harsh reality that our society has, for too long, celebrated (or at least tolerated) people, traditions, and policies that have deepened the racial divide. We have had to examine our own role in perpetuating this division, and we have asked ourselves what we can do to make meaningful progress toward becoming community we long to be.

Many in Montgomery have taken actions – small or large – to make a difference. One such action was taken by the Montgomery County School Board, who voted on July 14th to remove Confederate names from three MPS high schools.

Currently, of the 7 traditional high schools in the Montgomery Public School system (in Montgomery, Alabama), 3 are named after men known for their involvement with the Confederacy:

• Robert E. Lee High School, named after the Commander of the Confederate States Army (Established 1955)
• Jefferson Davis High School, named after the President of the Confederate States (Est. 1968)
• Sidney Lanier High School, named after a musician/poet who was a private in the Confederate Army (Est. 1929)

Some will say the change is merely symbolic, but symbols, like brands, are powerful tools for communicating values and identity. The old namesakes were anything but inspiring to the majority of our students. Each day these men’s legacies served as a stark reminder to black and brown students (who make up 80% of the schools) that  - for a long time - too many in our community viewed them as fundamentally inferior, so much so that they were willing to fight and die to keep them enslaved.

But a new day is coming here in Montgomery. In late 2020, the School Board will lead a community engagment process to determine the new school names and mascots, and then the rebranding can begin. This rebranding has the potential to mark the beginning of a culture change in our public school system and in the community’s relationship to the schools. To make the rebranding meaningful, it needs to be done right. The unveiling of new identities for these schools needs to happen with fanfare and excitement, with well-designed logos and glossy new materials - with new uniforms, new athletic apparel, and new signage. 

Donate now to make that exciting future possible!