Petition to change names of Dallas schools gets 1.4k+ signatures

Changing the names of at least two Dallas schools associated with the confederacy may be gaining momentum.

One petition that was started Wednesday has over 1,400 signatures and counting.

Mary Ann Parrish's three sons attended Stonewall Jackson Elementary on Mockingbird Lane.

“What's going on in our country right now, it's come front and center,” she said.

Parrish is not affiliated with any formal group but started an online petition to call for change to the names of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson Elementary Schools. Within hours, there were over a thousand signatures.

Some schools with Confederate ties are seeing a stronger grassroots push for change than others. Albert Sidney Johnston Elementary School, also named after a Confederate general, sits in Trustee Dr. Lew Blackburn's district.

“They were more concerned about their child's teacher, principal, how things were going on inside the school more so than the name of the school,” he said.

Dr. Blackburn is among the trustees urging the board to discuss potential name changes to as many as nine schools at a September 14th DISD board briefing.

Board President Dan Micciche says there are lots of questions to consider, like whether to change all school names with Confederate ties or just those where there's an outcry. Then, there's cost and what to change the names to.

For Stonewall, Parrish says one suggestion is growing on her.

“One of our wonderful fifth-grade teachers here mentioned Mockingbird Gardens Elementary School,” she said. “It's not controversial. It's a beautiful name.”