人兽性交

The four women 鈥� March茅 Johnson, Khadidah Stone, Kayla Vinson (no relation to author) and Amerika Blair 鈥� had spent almost two months preparing for the Montgomery, Alabama, school board meeting, and when the day finally arrived, they were ready.

They had only one purpose that evening: Convince the school board to remove the names of Confederate leaders from three schools in a state whose license plates still bear the phrase, 鈥淗eart of Dixie.鈥�

For decades, multiple efforts had been made to rename the schools, to no avail. But in the July meeting, Blair and Vinson spoke eloquently about why they believed the names celebrated white supremacy.

Robert E. Lee High School is named after the general who led the Confederate Army, Jefferson Davis High School is named after the president of the Confederacy, and Sidney Lanier High School bears the name of a private in the Confederate Army.

Amerika Blair

鈥淲e cannot move forward without confronting the infrastructures that were built as a statement of white supremacy,鈥� Blair, 28, told the school board. 鈥淲e cannot move forward by memorializing a history of Black inferiority. . . . MPS (Montgomery Public Schools), I鈥檓 calling on you to stand against the legacy of white supremacy . . . and to change the name of Lee high.鈥澛犅�

Some audience members applauded Blair鈥檚 bravery, but others remained silent.聽聽

After about three hours of debate and deliberation, the women got what they wanted: The board voted to rename the schools.

But the decision wasn鈥檛 unanimous or without controversy. Board member Dr. Lesa Keith voted against each measure.

After the public comment section ended, Keith 鈥� who had taught psychology to Blair at Lee High School 鈥� said, 鈥淗istory is not here for us to like it or dislike it. It is here for us to learn from it. And I heard you and most of you are offended by it. 鈥� But it鈥檚 a good thing to be offended. Because that means that we will never repeat it. And if we keep on like this, you鈥檙e going to have someone out there, some crazy person 鈥� it can be white, it can be black and can be some other race, but something stupid is gonna happen. And whatever race it happens to be, we鈥檙e all gonna be blamed for it. 聽鈥� It鈥檚 not your history, it鈥檚 all of our history.鈥�

Blair quickly stood up, demanding to know why Keith hadn鈥檛 taught her the truth about Lee when she was in Keith鈥檚 classroom.

Then, Keith shouted, 鈥淎ll lives matter!鈥�

In response, several people in the audience yelled, 鈥淏lack lives matter鈥� 鈥� invoking the movement against racial injustice and police brutality 鈥� and left the meeting. Blair was among them.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 taught my history,鈥� Blair later told the Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交). 鈥淚 never knew who Gen. Lee was. If all lives matter, then make sure you don鈥檛 control the narrative to where you are memorializing people who did not believe in the humanity of Black people. It鈥檚 insulting.鈥澨�听听聽

Vinson said that Keith鈥檚 words 鈥� and the words of other citizens who didn鈥檛 agree with renaming the schools 鈥� were difficult to hear. Rather than speaking of 鈥渆rasing history,鈥� she said the women鈥檚 duty as leaders of the movement was to face 丑颈蝉迟辞谤测.听听听听听

鈥淲hile we claim to be a democracy with equal justice for all, we haven鈥檛 been,鈥� Vinson, 31, said. 鈥淔acing our history means facing the fact that we haven鈥檛 treated everyone with equity.鈥澨�听听听听听

Kayla Vinson

During the meeting, as concerned citizens gathered to voice their opinions over renaming the schools, there was tension in the air. The silence ended when school board member, Jannah Bailey, began the meeting with a call to prayer. Evoking the words of former First Lady Michelle Obama, she said, 鈥淸H]istory has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.鈥澛� 聽

A movement is born 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听聽

The movement to rename the schools began in June after 聽from Lee High School amid national protests following the murders of Black people by police and calls for the removal of Confederate symbols.

The women were in communication with (SONG), an advocacy group of which they are all affiliated, and as the organizations helped secure the release of the people charged with the statue鈥檚 removal.

During a Zoom call, Blair, Johnson, Vinson and Stone 鈥� who had all met one another over the last couple of years through shared professional circles 鈥� joined forces to build a campaign to rename the schools so no other student would have to walk onto a campus named after a white supremacist.

March茅 Johnson

鈥淲e thought, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 next?鈥欌�� Johnson, a 2003 graduate of Lee High School, said. 鈥淲e were in the heat of the moment, and within two days we were making phone calls to see what we could do.鈥澨�听听

The women galvanized wide support to rename the schools聽with Lee High School alumni and local members of SONG.聽Through thoughtful leadership and grassroots organizing, they also got the backing of current students. Within a week, the campaign was in full swing thanks to social media, word of mouth and outreach to key community leaders.

鈥淔or so long, we鈥檝e just been riding a wave,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淣obody has said too much. Most Alabamians are so conservative. But we all agreed that these efforts were necessary, that they had to happen. I鈥檓 pretty sure more people care about what happens to future generations than those who don鈥檛. If not, you鈥檙e a part of the problem.鈥澨�听听

Initially, many of Montgomery鈥檚 citizens thought the movement centered solely on Lee High School. But the women stressed that the goal was to rename all three schools, in order to achieve equity for all students.

鈥淲e had passion,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e were all of one accord. The movement isn鈥檛 about just Lee high. If we want equity, the movement is for all schools. We could鈥檝e strictly focused on Lee high, but what would that gain for our city?鈥澛�

As the movement progressed, the women hoped that the community and the Montgomery school board would agree that this change was long overdue.听听听聽

Reconciling with the truth聽聽

Public comments at the July 14 meeting were limited to three minutes. When it was her turn to speak, Blair 鈥� a 2009 graduate of Lee 鈥� took to the microphone, explaining with conviction why she wished to rename her alma mater. 听听听听听听听听听聽聽

Vinson attended high school in Atlanta. But she, too, approached the microphone and said, 鈥淚t is these three schools named after Confederate soldiers that were used to maintain white supremacy and deny Black people their constitutional rights.鈥� 听听听

The school board 鈥� comprised of four Black women and three white women 鈥� voted on each name change separately. Keith, who is white, voted against each one. Board President Clare Weil, who is also white, voted against changing the name of Lanier, which is her alma mater.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised Dr. Keith voted against the decision,鈥� said Stone, a 2014 graduate of Lee high. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 excited and look forward for more changes to come through Montgomery. We鈥檙e not making the movement about us; it鈥檚 about the community.鈥� 聽聽

As Keith protested the 鈥渆rasing of history,鈥� Board Vice President Claudia Mitchell, who is Black and voted for the name changes, calmly responded, 鈥淵ou wouldn鈥檛 tell a Jewish student to go to a Hitler high.鈥澛�

It鈥檚 only now 鈥� 11 years after graduation 鈥� that Blair learned the truth about Gen. Lee. On her own, she discovered that Lee was of Americans, as he defended the South鈥檚 enslavement of of Black people.

鈥淟ee was a pillar of maintaining slavery,鈥� Blair told the 人兽性交. 鈥淜eith said she wanted Lee鈥檚 legacy to be remembered. But he was a brutal slave owner, who would whip slaves and then pour saltwater over their wounds. He was an oppressor.鈥�

Just months before Lee High School got its name, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, ruled that all schools should be desegregated. Nevertheless, in defiance of the landmark ruling. 聽

Black students began attending Lee and Lanier in the fall of 1964, and today, Lee鈥檚 student population is predominantly Black.

Blair, Johnson, Vinson and Stone said the school names have long reflected the school board鈥檚 notion that Black students are unimportant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an ongoing struggle for the Black community to prove their worth,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淏ut when you have a school system memorializing white supremacy, you鈥檙e telling children they鈥檙e not worthy.鈥� 听听听聽

When Stone learned the reality of who Lee was in the 11^th grade, she said she felt that she was being mocked by attending a school that lauded racism and slavery.

鈥淚t was completely disrespectful,鈥� Stone, 23, said. 鈥淲hite supremacy and the Confederacy were aligned with racist ideals. We need to be honest about these Confederate generals, and what they meant for us. Unfortunately, a lot of people don鈥檛 want to know the truth. They鈥檇 rather be in a state of ignorance, because the truth hurts. But we need to reconcile with the truth.鈥� 聽聽

While all four women celebrate the victory to rename the schools, they know it鈥檚 only the first step in a larger movement to remove Confederate symbols across the city. They hope their courage will inspire others, no matter the obstacles. 听听听听听听

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to sit back; we鈥檙e going to propel the next generation forward,鈥� Johnson, 35, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our duty. We want to let them know that when it鈥檚 time to fight, fight 鈥� and stay the course.鈥� 听听听听听听聽聽

鈥榊ou have enough鈥� 听听听

At the onset of the movement, Blair worried about public criticism. But in times of doubt, she took comfort in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., who said, 鈥淚 do not see how we will ever solve the turbulent problem of race confronting our nation until there is an honest conversation with it and a willing search for the truth and a willingness to admit the truth when we discover it.鈥澛� 听听听听听听听听听

Blair also leaned on the courage of , who refused to give up her seat to a white person on a bus nine months before did. Colvin, Parks and are among the people that paved the way for her, she said.聽 聽聽

鈥淚 like to believe that the people who get it done are the ones experiencing it, not celebrities or elected officials,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you just have passion and you have the experiences, you have enough.鈥�

The movement has helped Stone to realize her strength 鈥� that despite how many people may disagree with her, she will stand up for what鈥檚 right. 听听听

鈥淚 don鈥檛 care what people say anymore,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e grown in courage. I used to be very careful about what I said. But now I handle the truth, and I am straightforward in the way I handle it.鈥� 听听听

As the schools are renamed, the women also plan to continue to hold elected officials accountable and demand educational equity for Montgomery schools. 听听听聽聽

鈥淚 would like to tackle the brokenness of [Montgomery Public Schools] to make sure our students get a quality education, a feeling of inclusion and resources,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淭hose are the efforts beyond the exterior.鈥� 听听听

Johnson said that with the name change comes a time to repair old wounds.

鈥淲hat we proved through this movement is that things can change,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e opened the door to go deeper and more internally. Now is the time for conversations and action to happen. It鈥檚 a healing process 鈥� and it starts with this.鈥� 聽聽

Vinson said she envisions a community guided by a sense of justice and love for one another 鈥� not in how we name things, but how we treat each other. 聽聽

Demanding equity

鈥淭his is the start of a larger conversation to make space for people to discuss how to have a meaningful life,鈥� Vinson said. 鈥淭here is enough power to go around. We can all have it, not just the privileged.鈥澨�听听聽聽

Emboldened by the renewed confidence and sense of self-empowerment that the movement has offered her, Johnson encourages others to demand equity, even amid hurdles.聽聽

鈥淲e have a hard battle here in Alabama,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淔or anyone in any state, there will be push back when you鈥檙e fighting for what鈥檚 right. But when you鈥檙e fighting for something bigger than you, keep going. Don鈥檛 be swayed any differently.鈥�

Exactly how the schools will be renamed remains unclear, however.聽聽

When a predominantly white state legislature passed the 鈥� a law requiring a city be fined $25,000 should a historical monument be moved or modified if it鈥檚 been in place over 40 years 鈥� controversy ensued. 聽聽

Echoing statements made at the school board meeting, proponents of the bill claimed the law simply preserved Alabama鈥檚 history, so its citizens could learn from its past. But people like former Sen. Hank Sanders of Selma, Alabama,

A provision of this law states that a school board can apply to waive the $25,000 fee when changing an historical name. But at this time, the MPS school board has not applied for such waivers, leaving them open to paying a fee totaling $75,000.聽

惭别补苍飞丑颈濒别,听 by a community group to help cover costs should the board be fined. Although questions remain regarding what that renaming process would look like, the board is currently asking for input on how to best select new names for the schools.听听听聽

聽鈥淲e need a new beginning,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big part of this movement 鈥� to face the legacy of white supremacy. It has to be confronted in order to move forward.鈥�