08/07/2026
A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia issued an opinion on August 6, 2026, finding that the Shenandoah County School Board discriminated against Black students by reinstating school names that honor Confederate generals. The Court found that the evidence at trial overwhelmingly supported the students’ claims that the School Board’s actions violated the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing them equal protection of the laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, ensuring equal access to education and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act, which is a promise to stamp out the vestiges of segregation.
In delivering a decisive victory to students, U.S. District Court Judge Michael F. Urbanski wrote that “[T]he decision to rename the schools after Confederate leaders cannot be divorced from racial discrimination. Lee, Jackson, and Ashby fought to preserve a political system that enslaved Blacks, and their legacy was used as a tool to fight school desegregation. Had the Confederate cause succeeded, the United States would look much different today, and the plaintiffs may not have the very rights exercised in this lawsuit to petition the Government to redress grievances. U.S. Const. amend. I. In 2020, the School Board recognized the racially divisive symbolism that the Confederate leaders represent and removed their names from its schools. The School Board’s subsequent vote to reinstate the names necessarily embraces the ideals for which Lee, Jackson, and Ashby fought – including the enslavement of Black people – an ideology patently inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Read the Full Statement https://naacpva.org/federal-judge-finds-reinstating-confederate-school-names-violates-the-constitutional-rights-of-black-students/
