JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi school named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis will have a new name starting next year — Barack Obama Magnet IB.
The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson reports that school stakeholders voted to rename the school, which is 98 percent black.
Overall, the student population for the school district is 97 percent black.
“Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him,” PTA President Janelle Jefferson told the board.
The response at the board meeting was “jovial,” according to the newspaper.
The PTA plans to solicit corporate sponsors and other funding mechanisms to cover costs associated with the name change.