Julianne Moore And Bruce Cohen Petition To Rename High School Named For A Confederate Leader

Julianne Moore and producer Bruce Cohen are petitioning to change their Virginia high school’s confederate name.

MOORE AND COHEN PETITION TO RENAME HIGH SCHOOL

Last June a group of students attending the J.E.B. Stuart High school in Virginia started a petition to replace the school name, which honors a Confederate leader, with that of a Supreme Court Judge and civil rights leader Thurgood Marshall. They took up the cause after nine black parishioners were shot to death at a church in Charleston, S.C. The incident provoked a discussion about whether or not it was appropriate to continue honoring names associated with the Confederacy.

Moore and Cohen, both former students of the school, have joined the cause. They started a new Change.org petition that now has nearly 30,000 signatures.

“Today, this school is attended by a diverse group of students who should not have to attend a school that bears the name of a man who fought to keep African Americans enslaved,” the petition states. “So we’re calling on the Fairfax County School Board to rename it Thurgood Marshall High School. Not only was Marshall the first African American Supreme Court Justice and a civil rights leader, he was our neighbor and a member of our community.”

Moore explained in a statement to The Washington Post that, “We name our buildings, monuments, and parks after exalted and heroic individuals as a way to honor them, and inspire ourselves to do better and reach for more in our own lives. It is reprehensible to me that in this day and age a school should carry and celebrate the name of a person who fought for the enslavement of other human beings. I think the students of this school deserve better than that moniker.”

You can sign the petition here.