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The Transformation of Dr. Erenestine Harrison by Gail Jarvis In a recent LRC blog post, Elizabeth Wright discusses the transformation of Dr. Erenestine Harrison who, as a concerned black resident of Hampton, Virginia, began a petition to change the names of two primarily black schools that were named after Confederate heroes: Robert E. Lee Elementary School and Jefferson Davis Middle School. However, Harrison later withdrew her request. In an interview, Dr. Harrison cited two basic reasons for her change of heart. First, the flood of email and letters she received from Southern heritage supporters that provided information previously unknown to...

(AP) - Hampton resident Erenestine Harrison has dropped her petition to rename Jefferson Davis Middle School in response to strong arguments from individuals and groups dedicated to Southern history. "They convinced me, basically, that this means so much to them," Harrison said. "I don't think the black community cares as much about removing (the name) as much as they care about preserving it."Earlier, she decided to forgo a campaign to change the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary School because she uncovered information indicating the Confederate general's family opposed slavery.Davis served as president of the Confederate States of America during...

HAMPTON -- The woman who proposed striking the names of Confederate leaders from two Hampton schools has dropped half of her petition, saying she's gained new perspective on the character and legacy of Gen. Robert E. Lee. "By looking at his own words, you really can see he was a good, honorable man," said Erenestine Harrison, author of the petition. "The things that changed my mind about Robert E. Lee, I really had to look deep."

Educators Debate Efforts to Rename Schools HAMPTON, Va. - At Jefferson Davis Middle School, a civil war of words is being waged over a petition drive to erase the name of the slave-owning Confederate president from the school. Opinion is mixed, and it's not necessarily along racial lines. "If it had been up to Robert E. Lee, these kids wouldn't be going to school as they are today," said civil rights leader Julian Bond, now a history professor at the University of Virginia. "They can't help but wonder about honoring a man who wanted to keep them in servitude." That...

A Hampton woman has started a petition to change the names of Robert E. Lee Elementary and Jefferson Davis Middle schools, saying it's inappropriate and psychologically damaging to send a predominantly black student population into buildings named after Confederate leaders. ...suggests that Lee be renamed Maya Elementary School in honor of poet Maya Angelou and that Davis be changed to Beth-Day, after social activist Mary McLeod Bethune and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor