TYLER — A proposal to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School failed Monday evening following an executive session of the Tyler Independent School District board.
After nearly an hour of passionate speeches by members of the board, the motion was formally introduced into the meeting.
However, in a shocking turn of events, no board member seconded the motion for a formal vote. As a result, the proposal failed.
At the previous board meeting in late July, five members of the board voted to hold a final vote on the name change at the next meeting.
The meeting was adjourned shortly after, stunning the crowd in attendance.
WATCH LIVE: Tyler ISD board holds final vote on Robert E. Lee High School name change: https://bit.ly/2AUdwkGThe meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m.
The meeting was held at 6 p.m. at the Jim Plyer Instructional Complex. All of the board members delivered mostly passionate speeches before the motion was presented.
Dr. Patricia Nation spoke first, declaring the threatening messages received by the board was unacceptable.
"Those who have resorted to attacks, threats, name-calling or character assassination have had their words devalued and their own true character revealed," Dr. Nation said. "Members of the board have deep-seeded integrity with no hidden agenda, but the desire to serve the community at large and our students in particular."
Jean Washington spoke next, seemingly declaring her support of the name change.
"Why should we give present-day powers to [Robert E. Lee's] actions by continuing to place a negative stereotype on a school building named after him," Washington said.
However, she then expressed frustration at the process, saying the "situation has gone too far."
"To those that say that keeping the name is a legacy of hate, leave it to be remembered that hate is a learned behavior," Washington said. "A name on a building should not foster that. If anything, it should teach the students how far we as a nation have come."
The most passionate statement came from Rev. Orenthia Mason. In a speech that last for nearly 10 minutes, she criticized both sides of the issue and declared there would be "no real winners" no matter the decision.
She began stating that the board's primary function is to act for the interests of students and the board should not have been at the center of heated debate.
"You elected citizens who will make sound, intelligent decisions about the education of students. Trustees are not political puppets," Rev. Mason said. "Now we are being put on the forefront of a cultural issue, a societal issue."
Rev. Mason then spoke about her frustration at the public, specifically the division within Tyler's black community.
"I've been in situations in public where attacks were made on Mrs. Washington and and upon me, and said it clear in the newspaper, that the black community is divided. And once we continue to attack each other, then the other citizens in the community will come to the conclusion that we don't know how to work together," Rev. Mason said. "African-American citizens, I may not always agree with you, but I listen to you."
She concluded briefly saying her decision was based solely upon discussions with students.
Vice President Wade Washmon spoke next, humorously reluctant to follow Rev. Mason's passionate speech.
Washmon reiterated the board's mission to act in the interest of giving children the best education possible. Then he spoke upon the importance of unity and understanding the issue in the modern world.
"I think my generation has a pretty decent grasp on this whole concept. I know I'm raising my kids just a little different than I was raised. That steps in a loving direction," Washmon said. "We want unity so bad, but we're trying to force it. It needs to be organic."
He then said that he felt it was right to wait on the issue until the community more fully embraced the change.
"To me the time for a situation like this, or a decision like this, would and should occur is when the whole community is supporting it," Washmon said. "There might be a day when five or seven board members feel like a decision like this is the right one to do. And that would be the time to do."
Andy Bergfeld was the most outspoken of the trustees against the name change.
"The voters passed a bond for a new Robert E. Lee and a new John Tyler and it would be politically dishonest to force the clear majority of voters to take it like a man while we pull a bait and swtich," Bergfeld said. "This would be the only time I can remember where we force something upon the voters as we're proposing to do tonight."
Following Bergfeld, Aaron Martinez spoke, clearly stating his desire to change the name.
"We are responsible to not only our currents students, but the community. And not just these students and this community, but the students and community in 20 years," Martinez said. "We're having to adjust this because our predecessors did not. So one of my questions and concerns is: What are we going to do for the board that follows us? Are we going to kick this can down to them? And to me, it doesn't seem right."
Finally, President Rev. Fritz Hager spoke. His speech was by far the longest, nearly 15 minutes in length. At first, he reiterated the board's focus on student achievement.
Then, Rev. Fritz, who said he was a distant relative of Lee, clearly stated he also hoped to the change the name of Robert E. Lee High School.
He began stating the claim of the "where will this end" argument against the name change was, in his mind, a slippery slope scare tactic.
"'Where will this end?' was the question asked across the south in 1954 when the Supreme Court forced public schools to integrate," Rev. Fritz said. "I'm sure the question was asked here in Tyler in 1970 when a federal court stepped in and said 16 years was long enough to delay integration."
He continued by directly addressing those saying the name was preserving history.
"The irony is that the very folks whose rally cry is "you can't erase history" seem to be unknowingly following in lock step with the very pattern that those opposed to civil rights have always used," Rev. Fritz said.
He then addressed the context of the name, saying Robert E. Lee High School, like many named after Confederate heroes, had its origins in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education.
Rev. Fritz also addressed the complicated man that was Robert E. Lee. He said Lee was indeed a hero of the Confederacy whom honor was a high priority and was opposed to slavery, but that he was also held white supremacist viewpoints and fought to preserve the slave-holding tradition of the south.
He again spoke directly to those against the name change, who he says, have demonized those hoping to change the name of the school for positive change in the community.
"These are not crisis actors or outside agitators or political activists. Their not faceless national political forces of liberalism or political correctness," Rev. Fritz said. "They are our neighbors, real people who live here, provide for their families here and trust us with their children and grandchildren everyday."
After the conclusion Rev. Fritz's speech, Rev. Mason asked what the process would be if the board voted to change the name.
Following an explanation by Rev. Fritz, Martinez formally introduced a motion to change the name of only Robert E. Lee High School. When Rev. Fritz opened the floor for a second to the motion, the room fell silent for 12 seconds.
Rev. Fritz reminded the board and the public five members of the school board wanted a vote on the issue.
"At our last meeting, there were five people indicating that they wanted a vote to provide closure. Although permitted to second a motion, as president, to preside neutrally over this function, I would choose not to," Rev. Fritz said. "I would ask that, remind members that seconding a motion does not indicate that you support it. It only indicates that it will be brought to a vote. And that the whole reason it was on the agenda tonight was that at least five members asked that we bring this to a vote so that we can bring closure on it."
After asking again for a second to the motion, the room remained quiet for another seven seconds. After that, Rev. Fritz declared the motion to change the name failed.
The meeting adjourned shortly after. The meeting lasted about 45 minutes in its entirety.
While the current debate has its roots in the aftermath of the Charlottesville protests in 2017, the roots of the issue stretches back more than half a century.
Robert E. Lee first opened in the 1950’s as an all-white school, despite the Supreme Court’s decision on Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. It was one of several schools in Texas, and across the south, named for the Confederate general.
By 1970, after numerous lawsuits by the United State Justice Department, black students began to be enrolled into the Robert E. Lee and John Tyler High School from Emmett Scott.
Shortly after, the first pushes to remove both Robert E. Lee's and John Tyler's names from their respective schools began and would continue for years to come. All efforts ultimately failed without much support from the school board.
The latest effort to remove Robert E. Lee’s name from the high school off the Loop began in the wake of the deadly protests in Charlottesville Virginia. In response, movements across the country pushed to remove Confederate names, images and symbols from public buildings, parks and schools.
During the summer of 2017, more than 40 members of the community spoke out at a board meeting both for and against changing the school’s name.
In September, the school board addressed the issue, saying they were open to discuss renaming the school, but only after the 2017-2018 school year.
In January of 2018, the school board asked for what the costs of a name change would be, further tabling the debate.
In May 2018, the issue re-surfaced during a board workshop. mainly about the costs associated with changing the school’s name. Trustees Orenthia Mason and Aaron Martinez requested the issue be put up as an action item in a June meeting, but that was later withdrawn.
Local business owner John Franzen said the estimated $1,000,000 per campus to rename them did not add up.
Still, during a May board meeting, dozens of students came to speak out about the school’s name, many demanding change.
In June, more than 100 people gathered in Tyler to sign postcards in support of changing the name.
Meanwhile, those for keeping the name began a petition called "Save the Name." The petition urged the board to stand their ground against public pressure.
That same month, the school also estimated the costs of the upcoming uniform change. The board said the uniform change, with or without the name change, would be expensive.
One compromise, proposed by School Board Vice President Wade Washmon, would have renamed the school to simply Lee High School. However, the compromised was highly unpopular and heavily criticized by both sides.
In July’s board meeting, community members again spoke passionately on both sides, but they both agreed that the board needed to make their final decision soon.
The board elected to hold a vote at their next meeting in August. Though the meeting was originally scheduled for August 20, the board elected to hold an executive session Monday to make a final vote on the name change.
The possible name change is the top item on the docket.
If the board votes to rename the school, the agenda says the board will also begin discussions for a new name.