Judge: Naming school ‘Stonewall Jackson’ violates students’ free speech rights

A Virginia high school violated the free speech rights of students when it named its school after Confederate Army General Stonewall Jackson, a federal judge ruled recently.

The Virginia NAACP sued Shenandoah County’s school board over its decision in 2024 to bring back the name “Stonewall Jackson” for its high school. In 2020, the school board changed the name to “Mountain View.”

The Virginia NAACP successfully argued that requiring students to wear clothing that says “Stonewall Jackson Generals” during extracurricular activities amounts to “compelled speech.”

The name “Stonewall Jackson” is a “symbol of racial exclusion,” Judge Michael Urbanski wrote in his Sept. 9 ruling. He is a retired judge, originally appointed by President Barack Obama.

“The name ‘Stonewall Jackson’ is uniquely expressive, not only in light of this lengthy history
of Confederate symbolism, but specifically in light of the 2024 School Board’s decision to
reinstate the name so soon after that very body had unanimously declared that the name
conveyed a message endorsing the Confederacy, slavery, and racial exclusion,” Judge Urbanski wrote.

“Although the record contains evidence indicating that members of the community in Shenandoah County disagree as to the nature of the message conveyed by the name ‘Stonewall Jackson,’ the First
Amendment test of whether conduct is expressive requires a message, but does not require
that the same message be perceived by all viewers,” Urbanski ruled.

The Virginia NAACP and its attorneys did not respond to requests for comment about any concerns they were creating a precedent that would allow for other people to challenge schools named after African-American leaders, such as President Barack Obama, Malcolm X, or Martin Luther King Jr.

The College Fix emailed the Virginia NAACP on Wednesday, along with the two listed attorneys on the original lawsuit and also asked for clarification on what is offensive about the name “generals.”

On Thursday, The Fix also emailed and left a voicemail for Li Reed, an attorney with Covington and Burlington, who is quoted in the NAACP news release.

“This decision is a key vindication of what our clients have argued since the School Board proposed reinstating the Confederate names: forcing them to constantly espouse pro-slavery, anti-Black messages is a violation of their First Amendment constitutional rights,” Reed stated in a news release. “The families and students, and the Virginia State Conference NAACP, have been steadfast and courageous in their fight to protect their rights in this case, and we look forward to vindicating the remainder of their claims at trial.”

“The students in Shenandoah County and across the Commonwealth deserve to be in a learning environment and participate in extracurricular activities proudly and one that honors who they are,” NAACP Virginia State Conference President Cozy Bailey also stated.

A trial is set for December on remaining claims in the lawsuit, including that the name violates “the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the Equal Education Opportunities Act,” according to the NAACP news release.

The director of public advocacy for a national free speech group called the decision “notable” in an emailed comment to The Fix.

The ruling “reaffirms in the public school context a core First Amendment principle: the government cannot force individuals to be a mobile billboard for a message they reject,” Aaron Terr with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said.

“At the same time, it highlights the tension between that right and the government’s authority to name its institutions,” he said. “The court tried to limit the reach of its ruling by emphasizing the unique symbolism of the ‘Stonewall Jackson’ name, which had recently been retired to repudiate the Confederacy, slavery, and racism, then reinstated in defiance of that decision.” The Fix had asked about the implications for this and the potential for this to backfire on the political Left.

“There’s an open question of how far this theory might extend, and we’ll be watching closely to see whether future cases try to push it beyond these distinct facts,” Terr said.

Meanwhile, a historian and critic of cancel culture told The Fix the judge made the wrong decision.

“I do not think that returning the school name to its original name violates the speech rights of students,” Mary Grabar said via email. “Schools and other public institutions are often named after people that some members of the public do not like.” Grabar previously taught at Emory University and also has written several books critical of historical revisionism.

She noted the NAACP relied on Ty Seidule as an expert on Stonewall Jackson. Grabar has criticized Seideule, a West Point history professor, for pushing leftist views despite running a group called “Common Ground” that portends to foster open debate.

Grabar also responded to a question about the potential for parents to challenge schools named after President Barack Obama under the same legal theory.

“Certainly, a student wanting to enroll in one of the many schools named after Barack Obama (many of them early in his presidency before his legacy could be established) would face the same constraints of referring to his school and his sports team to an individual that his parents did not support or vote for,” Grabar said. “Of course, if someone were to file a lawsuit there would be an uproar.”

She said there are plenty of places “named after individuals that many do not like” and “part of being a citizen” is living with these “realities and compromises.”

“Students could learn a lesson and develop character from attending a school for an individual whose politics they disagree with,” she said. “It would be good character-building for adulthood.”

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