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Two Schools Named After Confederate Leaders to Get New Names

The Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex in Jackson, named after a Confederate colonel, will become the Ida B. Wells Elementary School. Wells was a Holly Springs native who went on to become a journalist, educator and civil rights leader. Photo courtesy JPS

The Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex in Jackson, named after a Confederate colonel, will become the Ida B. Wells Elementary School. Wells was a Holly Springs native who went on to become a journalist, educator and civil rights leader. Photo courtesy JPS

Thursday, December 17, 2020

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two Mississippi elementary schools named for Confederate leaders will get new names, officials said.

Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Jackson will be renamed Shirley Elementary School after doctors Aaron and Ollye Shirley, WAPT-TV reported.

Aaron Shirley became the first African-American resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1965 and went on to help develop several medical institutions in the state. Ollye Shirley is the former president of the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees.

The Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex in Jackson, named after a Confederate colonel, will become the Ida B. Wells Elementary School. Wells was a Holly Springs native who went on to become a journalist, educator and civil rights leader.

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