This is probably one of the most poetically beautiful things I’ve seen in recent days. A public school in Mississippi named after the first and only president of the losers Confederacy will be renamed to honor the first black president of the United States.
According to NBC News, the Davis Magnet International Baccalaureate Elementary School in Jackson, Miss., will be called the Barack Obama Magnet International Baccalaureate Elementary starting at the beginning of the next school year, the school’s PTA president, Janelle Jefferson, announced at a Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night.
Jefferson said that the name change came up after the issue was raised by a student.
“They know who [Davis] was and what he stood for,” she said. “This has a great impact on them because [Obama] is who they chose out of anybody else they could. This is the person that the whole school supported. He was their No. 1 choice.”
Jefferson said that the students at Davis, 98 percent of whom are black, selected Obama because they were alive during his presidency and felt that he shared and represented their principles.
The kids be knowing, I tell you.
The PTA asked the school’s community to suggest new names for the school, with parents, students and staff alike being given two weeks to submit their recommendations. A vote was eventually made earlier this week using paper ballots.
It is still not clear how expensive the name change will end up being, Jefferson added.
“Our parents are movers and shakers, so I know that we can rise to the occasion to raise those funds to make sure we can implement the name change,” she said.
“When you realize who this school is named for, I think that it’s a positive thing to be a part of this movement,” Jefferson added. “We want what’s best for our kids. We want our kids to identify with persons who they can relate to.”
Read more at NBC News.