State board urges Patrick Henry Community College and others to change names

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State board urges Patrick Henry Community College and others to change names

Amy Friedenberger 22 hrs ago

The governing body of Virginia’s community college system is urging two institutions — including Patrick Henry Community College — to reconsider their decisions to maintain the names of their schools that honor people who advocated for segregation or owned slaves.

The State Board for Community Colleges initiated a process last July of having colleges examine the names of their schools and buildings. Of the 23 community colleges in Virginia, five of them are named after segregationists, slave owners and confederates. Three of them have already begun the process to change their names.

Patrick Henry Community College and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in Clifton Forge had reported back to the state board that they wanted to keep their names. But the state board, which has the ultimate authority over the names, urged them last week to revisit their decisions.

“Should you name a college after him? I don’t know,” said Richard Reynolds, a member of the state board and former member of the House of Delegates. “I believe that today, no college would be named after Dabney Lancaster with any research into all that happened in his life.”

Patrick Henry Community College is going to hold additional meetings to discuss once again changing its name. The college had told the state board it wanted to keep its name.

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Amy Friedenberger is a reporter for The Roanoke Times. Reach her at [e-mail] or 540-981-3356.