The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Texas), the nation largest Muslim civil rights organization, today strongly condemned the recent decision by the Midland Independent School District (MISD) to restore the name of a local school in honor of a Confederate general — a deeply troubling and shameful move that blurs moral lines for all students, wastes an estimate of $62,000 of our tax money according to the district superintendent, and sends a hostile message to students and teachers of color.

The Midland Independent School District’s board of trustees voted in a divided vote (4-3) Tuesday night to rename a school after Robert E. Lee, reversing a former board’s moral efforts to distance itself from the Confederate General five years ago.

SEE: My San Antonio: Midland school board votes to restore school name honoring Confederate general

CAIR-Texas stands with students, parents, educators, and community members across Texas in opposing this regressive decision, which dishonors the educational mission of our public schools and fosters a toxic learning environment.

“Confederate leaders, such as Robert E. Lee, fought to preserve slavery and white supremacy. Restoring a school’s name to honor him is not about ‘history’ — it’s about glorifying an era of human enslavement and racial segregation,” said Shaimaa Zayan, Operations Manager of CAIR-Austin. “Such history belongs in museums and academia where it can be presented critically with the proper condemnation and degradation it deserves — not on school buildings where it is celebrated and normalized. This shameful vote to reinstate Lee’s name for Midland school is also constitutionally questionable as it may violate students’ rights to an environment free of hostility and discrimination.”

CAIR-Texas emphasizes that decisions for publicly funded schools shouldn’t favor nostalgia and fantasy of a racist ideology over constitutional rights and moral values of equality, dignity, and truth. Nations don’t choose their history, but people of conscience choose what part of their history to honor, carry as a legacy, and pass on to the next generations.

SEE: CAIR-Austin Joins Call to Remove Confederate Statue from Williamson County Courthouse Ground

Washington, D.C., based CAIR has repeatedly called for the removal of Confederate names, holidays, flags, statues, and symbols nationwide.

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.      

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.    

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CONTACT: Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR-TX Austin Operations Manager, szayan@cair.com, 512-785-7105; Sarwat Husain, shusain@cair.com