Now that Robert E. Lee High School is changing its name to Legacy of Educational Excellence High School, the North East ISD will auction off more than one thousand items which bear the 'Lee' name, or include Confederate imagery, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The name change was announced last fall as part of a re-examining of the use of Confederate symbology in modern America that was prompted by, among other things, the Charleston church massacre and the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville Virginia.
In a social media post, the NEISD says it will be building a museum on the LEE campus to contain several artifacts from the days when it was Robert E. Lee High School, including a statue of the Confederate general, but says 'all objects cannot be displayed in the museum, and there are more than 1,000 items that will be up for auction.'
"Typically, items like this are recycled or disposed of - but because the District heard from so many alumni expressing interest in purchasing these types of collectibles, an online auction will take place starting on July 16, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. local time" the district said.
The announcement of the auction prompted some criticism on Facebook. One parent blasted the district for changing the name of the school, and then 'attempting to profit out of the name change.
Another said simply, "This is one of the reasons I pulled my child out of NEISD," adding "Any district that is willing to remove history is not okay in my book."
PHOTO' NEISD