A Virginia county school board has voted to change the name of a high school named after Confederate war general Robert E. Lee to John Lewis, after the late civil rights icon and Georgia Congressman.
The Fairfax County School Board planned to change the school's name but had been debating what it would be.
The board chair said they wanted to make sure that the new name properly reflected the diversity of the school and there were concerns over the present name raised by staff and students.
"The name Robert E. Lee is forever connected to the Confederacy, and Confederate values are ones that do not align with our community," said school board member Tamara Derenak Kaufax, who had proposed the name change, according to a news release from Fairfax County Public Schools.
"We heard from so many community members, students, and alumni about the amazing things that John Lewis did during his life. And I think many people would be proud to have that as the name of their school. I think it would be an honor for the community as well as I hope, the congressman's family," said Kaufax, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.
Lewis died on July 17. He was 80.
Lewis had served in the House since 1987. He had been suffering from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer since December. He reportedly died in Atlanta and had been at home receiving hospice care.
The civil rights icon said last month that he cried when he watched the video of George Floyd's death.
"I kept saying to myself: How many more? How many young black men will be murdered? It made me so sad. It was so painful," he told, "CBS This Morning." "It made me cry."