John R. Lewis High School Officially Dedicated In Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, VA — The new name of John R. Lewis High School had been in place at the start of this school year, but Fairfax County Public Schools officially dedicated the new name in a ceremony Friday.

Among the officials attending the rededication ceremony at 6540 Franconia Road in Springfield were Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Reps. Don Beyer and Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Superintendent Scott Brabrand, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk, and school board members. Kimberly Boateng and and Kadija Ismail, two students involved in the effort to rename the school, also participated in the ceremony.

"This is an historic day for our school division and our community," Brabrand said at the ceremony. "This is a moment when we can reflect on our past and look to our future while we continue our important work around equity and anti-racism."

The Springfield, Virginia, school became the first in the nation to name a school for Lewis, the late civil rights leader and congressman who died July 17, 2020, after a battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Lewis, one of the "Big Six" leaders of the 1960s civil rights movement, was the youngest keynote speaker at the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. He also led the Selma-to-Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 to demand voting rights for African Americans. Lewis survived a police beating during the 1965 Selma march and was known for his philosophy of "good trouble." He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served Georgia's 5th Congressional district for 17 terms.

Members of the Lewis family tuned in to the virtual ceremony; and his youngest brother, Henry Lewis, sent a video message on behalf of the family.

"He had a vision, and he lived that vision out," Henry Lewis said in the video message. "Thank you all so much for naming a school after him and keeping his memory alive."

The renaming followed a June 2020 decision by the Fairfax County School Board to remove the name Robert E. Lee from the high school. According to Fairfax County Public Schools, the high school has a diverse student body representing 61 countries and speaking 25 languages.

"As a civil rights icon, a congressman and a passionate leader, John Robert Lewis’ voice and his example for living are needed today more than ever," said Lee District School Board member Tamara Derenak Kaufax.

Amid the renaming dedication ceremony, the high school was also spotlighted in a question on "Jeopardy!" that week. Contestants were asked, "In 2020, Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Virginia, was renamed for this late congressman and civil rights icon."

The answer? "Who is John R. Lewis?"