John Lewis Name: Voices of Change

TIMELINE

Voices of Our Students

"We think (Fairfax County Public School's) curriculum is very White-washed and very Eurocentric... It's supposed to be world history, yet we don't learn about women, we don't learn about people of color, and we're hoping that we can push for (Fairfax County Public Schools) to really change their curriculum and really remove the White-lensed glasses that are currently on it."

--Amanda Hurst, 16

"We are using our voices to ruffle people's feathers in order to make some good change, because in order to make change, I mean, some people are going to be opposed to it obviously... (we're) using our voices to advocate for what's right."

--Edward Carino, 15

"We're planning on starting a new committee for our class at John Lewis called the social justice committee to highlight students' civic engagement and activities and opportunities because John Lewis was an advocate for young voices, and we believe it's the best way to honor him. And we want students, like he stated, to get into 'good trouble' by using their voices to advocate for change."

--Farva Khan, 16

"I still stood up and I still fought, even though many people were against me or didn't care about what I had to say. And I think that's 'good trouble' because you're fighting for a cause that means more to you than it does to many... it supports many that have been so lost. So many students at my school who feel like they aren't supported, felt supported after this name change. They felt that they were heard because before they didn't feel like they had a voice, but now they know they do."     

--Luna Alazar, 18

"In my history class, government class actually, we learned about Martin Luther King's, 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail.' And I know he talked briefly about, if you know something is wrong, test the limit, and if a law is wrong, you know, break it... so you can show how wrong it is. I feel like that kind of represents 'good trouble' in a way, where you're causing trouble to show light on something... I think it's like the protests, you know, they wanted to show how unjust everything was, and I guess you could say they got into good trouble, and things are changing now."

--Nour Kassen, 16

The student voices were chronicled in an article by CNN staff reporter Rachel Janfaza

Source citation: 

Janfaza, Rachel. "Virginia Teens Got in 'Good Trouble,' as They Pushed to Rename Their High School for John Lewis." Cable News Network, Warner Media, 26 July 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/07/26/us/teens-rename-john-lewis-high-school/index.html. Accessed 16 Dec. 2020.

"We Won't Wear a Name: At these three high schools, each named for Robert E. Lee, students led the way toward change."  This article features seniors Kimberly Boateng and Kadija Ismael (Class of 2021) and appeared in the Issue 66, Spring 2021, Teaching Tolerance 

Source citation: 

Dillard, Coshandra. "'We Won't Wear the Name.'" Learning for Justice, Spring ed., version Issue 66, Southern Poverty Law Center, Feb. 2021, www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2021/we-wont-wear-the-name. Accessed 18 Feb. 2021.

Voices from FCPS Leadership, Faculty & Staff

Voice from the community

“We are grateful for the feedback provided by the community during this process," School Board vice-chair and Lee District representative Tamara Derenak Kaufax said.  "We have carefully considered their input, and will be moving forward with the name change at Lee High School.  As I stated in February when this process began, Confederate values are ones that do not align with our community. I have seen the pain and hurt that these names have inflicted on friends, colleagues, and community members. Our schools need to be places where all students, staff, and members of the community feel safe and supported.”

--Lee District School Board Representative Tamara Derenak Kaufax 

Tamara Derenak Kaufax  On Twitter: