San Angelo Residents Weigh In On Proposed Name Change For Lee Middle School, by Rosanna Aguilera, San Angelo Standard-Times

I am embarrassed and ashamed to think that I was once a proud member of the Robert E. Lee Middle School Rebel Band in the San Angelo Independent School District (SAISD) and that we regularly played such songs as "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again" during half-time performances at football games while wearing blue and gray, military-style band uniforms donned with two rows of yellow-brass buttons that made us all look like we were members of the Confederate Army.  

I hope that they retire that uniform, too, if they haven't already. They were horribly hot in the summer and early-fall, West Texas heat.  Of course, none of us kids had any choice in the matter.  Other than to cultivate a rote, unthinking sense of empty patriotic pride, I don't recall ever learning anything about Robert E. Lee.  

When my American History teacher at that school didn't read the morning paper to us, the rest of the time was dedicated to showing us films, of which only a few were about American History.  Since his class was always after early-morning band practice, it became a time for me to catch up on my sleep in class once the lights went down.  Now I understand all of this today as systemic racism and how my classmates and I were miseducated, at least in this significant way, as a consequence.

Contrary to how Susie Smith might consider me writing this post based on her comments below, I am most definitely not an "outside agitator." Quite the contrary.  This is deeply personal to me.  I am a witness to the history and effects of Jim Crow racism that my family and community endured in San Angelo.  

I was able to ultimately get a Ph.D. at Stanford University and secure a position at the University of Texas at Austin where I am a member of the faculty very much as a consequence of the Mexican American Civil Rights and Women's Movement that expanded opportunity for young people like me during that time period of the late 70s and early 80s.

I was born and raised in San Angelo and still have family, friends, and a church community there that I am confident would fully align with those mentioned below who are calling for a name change to Robert E. Lee Middle School.  I'm surprised that this hadn't come up sooner, particularly since we've been fighting the presence of Confederate statues on the UT Campus for close to a couple of decades.

Optimally, San Angelo needs to additionally offer Ethnic Studies—which is now state policy at the high school level—and teach the truth of segregation and its own racist past. I myself have a story to tell about how my grandfather, the Reverend Camilo Alfredo Rios, desegregated both the Concho River and the Municipal Swimming Pool.  He was also engaged in sit-ins and helped desegregate public establishments like restaurants and hotels downtown. There are many stories, many scars, and people who are still alive to tell them.

For example, children could learn about Ben Aguirre, whose story sheds a light on the systemic violence involving police and Anglo teenage boys who had the practice of hunting Mexican boys "for sport," together with a complicit judicial system.  Accordingly, all students could and should read this historical research by Dr. David Montejano (2005) on how twenty-year old Private Benigno Aguirre nearly lost his life at the hands of not only white boys and the police, but also a hospital system that nearly left him for dead, as well.

I am in full agreement with Ashley Rodriguez, NAACP public relations chair at Angelo State University, who testified at last Monday's SAISD Board Meeting, that honoring Robert E. Lee equates to endorsing "the oppression that the Confederacy fought so hard to uphold," the same oppression that nearly took Ben Aguirre's life on that horrifically violent day on September 1, 1945 (see Montejano, 2005, pp. 41-66).

I respectfully disagree with Billie Munguia who says that this isn't the time to change the name.  I actually don't think that there could be a better time if San Angelo is to stay in step with the current social justice, #BlackLivesMatter, multi-ethnic and racial millennial movement that is currently under way.

I encourage advocates to adjoin this request for a name change to the teaching of Ethnic Studies in all SAISD high schools—which is now state policy—so that this re-naming decision can productively move in the direction of curriculum that, among other things, provides all youth with much-needed critical perspectives on history while promoting anti-racism (Note: "Ethnic Studies" is the umbrella terms for "Mexican American Studies," "African American Studies," "Asian American Studies," and "Native American Studies," and all of these have been approved by the Texas State Board of Education; TEKS standard have been approved for both Mexican American Studies and African American Studies.).

As I and others have blogged and documented over the years, Ethnic Studies is a formidable movement in Texas and numerous other states.  California is poised at this very moment with Assembly Bill 1460 to make Ethnic Studies a requirement for graduation in the California State University system.

All told, it's such a breath of fresh air to read that local residents in San Angelo have mobilized against the school's name.  Please let me know if I may be of any help.

-Angela Valenzuela

#BlackLivesMatter
#Protests2020
#EthnicStudiesNow

Reference

Montejano, D. (2005). The beating of Private Aguirre: A Story about West Texas during World War II. Ch.2 in Rivas-Rodriguez, M. (Ed.), Mexican Americans and World War II. University of Texas Press.

San Angelo residents weigh in on proposed name change for Lee Middle School

Rosanna Aguilera, San Angelo Standard-TimesPublished 1:11 p.m. CT June 16, 2020

Lee Middle School in San Angelo (Photo: Standard-Times file photo)

SAN ANGELO — Residents voiced their opinions about the proposed name change for Robert E. Lee Middle School at the San Angelo ISD school board meeting Monday night. 

Public comments were made during the meeting June 15, 2020, about the middle school named after the commander of the Confederate army. The issue was brought up amid nationwide protests against racial inequality.

More: San Angelo ISD to seek community input about Robert E. Lee Middle School name

Lee Middle School, which is for students in grades 6-8, is located at 2500 Sherwood Way. The school's mascot is the Rebels.

On June 4, 2020, a petition appeared on Change.org requesting SAISD consider a new name for the school. 

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, the petition in favor of the name change has 10,291 signatures, while a petition opposing it has 6,208 

In Monday's meeting, nine comments were made; six were in favor of the name change and three were against it. 

Public comments made opposed of the name change

Roger Wallace said if you believe in something, then you need to say something about it.

"I really enjoyed going to that school," Wallace said. "Our community is a great community. I hate to see something happen and change the history we have in this town."

Billie Munguia, who made the online opposed petition, gave information as to why Robert E. Lee fought for the Confederacy.

"His family was in Virginia, and Virginia was not going to secede," Munguia said. "They were voting 2-1 not to secede. Robert E. Lee was going to stay with the union. Then Virginia flipped over, and it was 2-1 to secede. He wasn't going to go against his family; I wouldn't fight (against) my kids."

"It's important that parents teach their kids the good and why he was for the Confederacy, and that's not what's happening here," she said.

Munguia said if the name change is being considered, it's not the time to do so. 

"With the way 2020 has gone with the pandemic and people losing their jobs, it's the wrong time to throw this at people," she said. "Our community is hurting. Changing a school is not cheap; I don't know if anyone has thought of that."

Finally, she said if the name is changed, then it should be after a street name, or something generic.

"The name should have nothing to do with anyone, so no one can be offended," Munguia said.

Susie Smith also agreed with Munguia that this wouldn't be an appropriate time to change the name.

"I don't come from a racial position, my concern is the time of this because of what has been going on," Smith said. "The name of the middle school means 'look how far we have come,' and we can acknowledge what we have overcome."

Smith said she has never heard concern about the name of the school until recently.

"The concern I have is that this seems to be an agenda from the outside," Smith said. "This will have a sweeping affect, which I do not think will bring unity. I think it will be further divisive."

Smith said this can be the beginning of a conversation for San Angelo.

"If there are racial issues, let's deal with them, but let's do it without all the outside influence," she said. "We can just sit down and try to come to an agreement."

Comments made in favor of the name change

Sara Hilgenberg came to the meeting asking that San Angelo be open to the idea of a name change of the school.

"I am coming to you as a fellow member of this community, and I ask that we solve this together, because people in our community are hurting," Hilgenberg said.

Hilgenberg said the city should not cling to the past history, but rather create history as a community with this opportunity. 

"We have a strong, good history of rising together to support one another when there's a need," she said.

Hilgenberg left the podium with a Maya Angelou quote: "Do your best until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

Ashley Rodriguez, press and public relations chair for the NAACP chapter at Angelo State University, said changing the name represents one of the chapter's core values — equality. 

"The name Robert E. Lee does not represent that," Rodriguez said. "Instead, he represents the oppression that the Confederacy fought so hard to uphold."

Jessie Ramon Jr., creator of the name change petition, gave his thoughts on people who have different opinions on the subject.

"I respect each and every person's opinion and decisions on the matter, which is why I'm glad we have individuals here to oppose this and make sure they have the same platform to express the opposition," Ramon said.

Ramon said his concern is that the opposition is flawed by a century of attempted revisionism. 

"The argument that I am erasing history is the most common position they have taken," he said. "I can't speak for anyone else in this room, but I can recall the events that took place on 9/11. I have never relied on a public building named after Osama bid Laden to  ensure my recollection of that day is preserved." 

Dr. Jason Pierce, chair of the ASU history department, mentioned a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. saying, "We must never be satisfied so long as our children are stripped of their self hood and deprived of their dignity by signs that say 'for whites only.' "

He stated that although there are no signs that say that at the school, he believes when that school was open in 1949, that's what naming it after Robert E. Lee meant.

"It was segregated. Blacks could not go through those doors," Pierce said. "It changed five years later because the Supreme Court said it had to change. Somehow we have kept the name all of these years when we no longer believe in the segregation that it represented at the time."

Lana Primo said she agreed with the previous comments made to change the name of the school.

"Why should we let the name of a literal divider represent the inclusivity practiced at SAISD schools?" Primo said. "We can recognize our history, but also agree to make progress and remove the name from our school."

San Angelo NAACP president Sherley Spears spoke on behalf of the organization.

"In today's current environment of racial unrest, it is our responsibility to pave a way for young minds to embrace the positive aspects about the building of our country and not honor those who worked to destroy it," Spears said.

In addition to supporting the name change of the school, Spears wanted to include the changing of the school mascot from the Rebels.

"We want our students to aspire to be competitive through thoughtful and strategic words, ways and examples," she said. "The current mascot further supports a discriminatory system and must be changed."