Survey: Should Lee District Be Renamed In Fairfax County?

KINGSTOWNE, VA — As the Board of Supervisors considers an advisory committee's recommendation to rename Lee District, we want to hear your thoughts on the potential renaming.

Fairfax County's Redistricting Advisory Committee was tasked with recommending if the Lee, Sully, Mount Vernon, Mason and Springfield Districts should be renamed. The committee's final report recommended the board consider renaming Lee and Sully Districts but not Mount Vernon, Mason or Springfield.

The subcommittee assigned to discuss Lee District noted historical records are "inconclusive" on who the Lee District refers to. However, a name change was recommended "given the context of all the Confederate names that are in use within Fairfax County and the significance of the Lee name to our area." The committee concluded "commemoration of Confederate names attached to districts" does not follow the county's One Fairfax racial and social equity policy.

Lee was originally one of six Fairfax County townships created in 1870, according to Fairfax County Public Library research. The research notes there were no records on why appointed commissioners chose the township names.

Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk has already expressed support for considering a district name change. The supervisor started holding public meetings to discuss the Lee District name in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Lusk told the Washington Post there has been more support than opposition from residents on a district name change. He named a few possible new names for the district: Franconia, Huntley, Laurel Grove and Dogue Creek.

Other name changes have already happened to several Lee District locations. The Fairfax County School Board voted in 2020 to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School to John R. Lewis High School. Another change was the Fairfax County Park Authority tweaking the name of the Robert E. Lee Rec Center to Lee District Rec Center.

While the Redistricting Advisory Committee recommended renamings, it is up to the Board of Supervisors if the names will be changed and what the process will be.

We want to hear your thoughts on the potential renaming. Take our survey to share your thoughts on a name change and share your suggestions for potential names. The survey will be open through 12 p.m. on Monday, March 21. The survey is non-scientific, intended only to show public sentiment on the renaming debate.

If you cannot see the form below, click here.