Vestavia Hills Alumni Ask Schools To Drop 'Rebels' Name

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL — Some Vestavia Hills High School alumni are urging the school board to consider dropping the "Rebels" name from its schools. Three alumni addressed the board this week saying the name's ties to the Civil War make it outdated and inappropriate, according to a Vestavia Voice report.

Illia Grubbs, Holly Metcalf and Brandy Nix each urged the board to drop the name and shared accounts of past racism in the high school when they were students there in the late 90s.

The school system, which was formed amid desegregation of the Birmingham metro's schools in the late 60s, is a predominantly white system, and Grubbs said the Rebels name has indications of resistance to desegregation, according to the Vestavia Voice report.

Read the recap of this week's school board meeting in the Vestavia Voice.