What’s In a Name?
In Cobb County, about 63% of the students are non-white. That diversity isn’t quite reflected on the school board, which has three African American members and four white ones. Now, the board is confronted with social justice issues it hasn’t had to grapple with before.
For example, thousands of community members have petitioned the school district to rename some schools that glorify white supremacists. One is Wheeler High School, named after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.
“…this is a blatant example of systemic racism.”
“In the very beginning, we thought, ‘Oh, we just have to tell the board that this is a thing, and then they’ll just change it,’” said Caroline Hugh, a senior at Wheeler who is part of a group that wants the name changed. “And then very quickly, we realized that that was not the case.”