Mississippi school district could remove Confederate names

JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi school district where 97 per cent of the students are black will review whether to rename three elementary schools now honouring Confederate leaders.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that a committee of the Jackson Public Schools board will examine whether to change the names in Mississippi’s capital city.

Davis Magnet School is named for Jefferson Davis, who was president of the Confederacy.

George Elementary is named for James Zachariah George, who signed Mississippi’s secession ordinance and drafted the state constitution that denied voting rights to black citizens.

Lee Elementary is named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.