*Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson on Monday, July 20, hailed the decision by the Long Beach California Unified School Board to approve a motion to Rename the Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Long Beach, the Jenny Oropeza Elementary School. Ms. Oropeza was a highly respected and influential Latina elected official and community activist in Long Beach.
The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable spearheaded the national drive to drop the Confederate general’s name from the school. The campaign by the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable prompted a bi-partisan sponsored bill in the California Legislature to remove all Confederate related names from public institutions in the state by 2017.
“Nearly 80 school districts nationally carry the name of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, a traitor to the U.S. Constitution, and who was a pivotal battlefield figure in the fight to uphold slavery. Many of the schools that bear his name are attended by a majority of students of color.. The Long Beach School Board’s decision is historic and serves as a model for other public institutions nationally that memorialize traitorous pro-slavery advocates with names on schools to take similar action,” says Hutchinson,” It also sends the strong message that names on public schools and other public places that are paid for with taxpayer dollars must reflect those who are dedicated to and uphold the highest ideals of freedom, justice and civil rights for all.”
source:Â Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable
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