From Omowale Pan-African Library, by Dwayne Wong (Omowale)
Public comment on renaming Stonewall Jackson Middle School
This is Dwayne’s video, shown here with his permission. Watch it on his channel, where the comments are.
Dwayne Wong (Omowale) addresses a school board to ask that Stonewall Jackson Middle School be renamed. He introduces himself as the author of 16 books on African history, speaking as a descendant of enslaved Africans and as a scholar. He says Jackson was a slave owner and Confederate general, and quotes Jackson’s wife’s account that her husband believed slavery was sanctioned by God and allowed by Providence. He says Jackson fought for the Confederacy against abolitionists including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Delany, Sojourner Truth, and Henry Highland Garnet, who backed the Union.
He says he is not asking that history be erased, and that people who see Confederate generals like Lee and Jackson as heroic have a right to that belief. He argues divisive figures should be honored privately, not given public schools, and says he handed out a document on Roberto Clemente as a less divisive figure who better represents the community. He thanks the board.
