Public Schools Named After Confederates Are Not Just in the South

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — While the South still leads the nation in schools named after Confederate generals, the Southern Poverty Law Center is calling on non-Southern states to rename schools honoring Confederate leaders.

Currently, our Whose Heritage? report lists 195 schools named after Confederate leaders as “live,” and at least 80 of those schools were named after a county or town that honors a Confederate leader.

• Non-Southern states with schools honoring Confederate leaders are Missouri (5), Minnesota (3), California (2) and Washington (1).
• The states with the most live schools are Georgia (44), Texas (38) and Alabama (22).

More than 300 schools are currently listed in SPLC’s database, which tracks symbols of the Confederacy across the United States.  In collecting this data, the SPLC recently found 100 additional schools glorifying Confederate leaders scattered across the country. The majority of these additions are in the South.

As discussed during SPLC’s August 12th School Renaming press briefing, many of these schools are located in BIPOC majority communities.

Other new data revealed in the most recent Whose Heritage? data drop:

• Ninety-two (92) schools honoring Confederate leaders have closed or been renamed.
• Eighteen (18) schools have committed to changing their names but have not yet done so.

View a complete list of the schools named after Confederate leaders here.

To learn about the history of Confederate symbols, visit the SPLC’s Whose Heritage? report.

The following statement is from SPLC Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks:

“Elevating the names of pro-slavery men in, on and around public school property is deeply offensive. The fact that some are located in states like California and Minnesota whose soldiers fought on behalf of the Union during the Civil War helps to sustain a culture of white supremacy.

“This call to action is even more imperative when considering Black and other students of color attend these schools, potentially unaware of the true history behind the namesakes. It begs the question : what lessons are these actions teaching our children about the Confederacy’s shameful role in American history.

“While we continue to call upon all 195 schools across the country honoring Confederates to change their names, we specifically call on the states of California and Minnesota to follow the lead of Union soldiers who fought and died to unite this country.”