re: In reversal, Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to 2 schools

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Stuart Didawick of Edinburg stated that those critical of restoring the names did not represent the true opinion of those who live within the school district, nor are they connected to the culture that defines the communities and the schools.

"Will you listen to the opinions of woke outsiders who, for the most part, have no ties to the land, history and culture of this county or will you listen to the voices of the people who elected you to represent them?" Didawick asked. "The people whose families built and have sustained this county for generations. We are the majority."

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Carter Heishman, a three-sport athlete and member of the FFA at Mountain View, expressed pride in the school's name.

"I stay very active, and I'd like to wear a name I am proud of," he said. "Not only do I want to have my FFA jacket say Stonewall, but I would also love to have my jerseys say Stonewall, which I wear year-round."

Following the meeting, those attending left in disparate moods.

"I'm ecstatic," Dorian Langston of Mount Jackson said. "It's our heritage. You can't erase it. You can't keep tearing down statues and changing school names."

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