The decision will ultimately be up to the shareholders in May, when it’s sent to them for approval. “We are keenly aware that the relationship of our company’s name to a person who figured prominently in the Confederate Army is the source of discomfort, even pain, for many of our fellow citizens,” Decherd said during the call. “And that is intolerable to the leaders of this enterprise.” Belo got involved with the company after the Civil War. His family had owned slaves, but he never did, Decherd said. Belo went to Houston in search of work and met Willie Richardson, the publisher of the oldest newspaper in the state,