Vance High School To Shed Name Honoring Confederate General

CHARLOTTE, NC — A Charlotte area high school will soon shed its name honoring a Confederate general and slaveholder, according to a local report.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education will meet Tuesday, June 23 to discuss plans to rename Zebulon B. Vance High School in north Charlotte, WFAE reported.

The school, which sits near the UNC Charlotte campus and began operation in 1997, was named to honor Vance, who served not only as a leader in the Confederate army, but also was a state senator and governor of North Carolina, the radio station noted.

Vance also owned six slaves, according to an essay by seventh grade Waddell Language Academy English teacher Justin Parmenter.

"Despite his steadfast support for the institution of slavery and his consistent racist ideology, Zebulon Vance is celebrated in North Carolina through various monuments and public buildings that are named after him," Parmenter said. "It’s important to understand our history and to learn from it, but there’s a not-so-fine line between learning from our history and celebrating historical figures who fought for the right to own and brutalize other human beings."

The move to rename the high school is symbolic, said to CMS board chair Elyse Dashew.

"Symbols are important. But SYMBOLS must be followed up with ACTION — to reduce inequities, opportunity gaps, and racism. To promote belonging and inclusiveness and to build an environment where all children can and do excel," she said.

While Tuesday's school board meeting will tackle Vance High's name change, more schools need new identities, Dashew said.

"We need to review the names of other school buildings in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools too. There is much to be learned. I look forward to leaning into this process with historians and with school communities," Dashew said.

"But we’ll begin with Vance."