Letters to the Editor

I have been a resident of Tyler since 1958. I do not remember any controversy over the name Robert E. Lee when the high school was built. Now the name of the school seems to offend numerous Tyler citizens. One writer to the paper refers to his name as a “dogwhistle for segregation and white supremacy.” I object to General Robert E. Lee’s name compared to a dogwhistle.

Robert E. Lee was born into one of the finest families in Virginia. His father was a hero of the Revolutionary War and friend to Gen. George Washington. Robert was 18 when he was accepted into West Point Military Academy. He graduated second in his class and never accumulated a single demerit. He married a step-great granddaughter of George Washington. He served in the Mexican-American War under General Winfield Scott who said, “he was the best soldier that I ever saw in the field.”

When it was obvious the North and the South would go to war, President Abraham Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee the command of the Northern Army. He declined, and although he opposed secession, he felt honor bound to serve his native state, his home and family. So he offered his services to the Confederacy, eventually holding the title of general and commanding the Army of Northern Virginia. After four years of conflict, knowing the South was defeated, he surrendered to Gen. Grant in April 1865 in Appomattox, Virginia.

After the war, homeless, his estate Arlington had been confiscated and turned into the Arlington National Cemetery, he became president of Washington College. He died at age 63 and is buried on the college grounds. His name lives on as a man of unmatched military abilities, and excellent and honorable character. His name is not a dogwhistle.

I am sure others in Tyler feel the same way, and want to keep Robert E. Lee as the name of our high school.

Carmen Curry Bennett

Tyler

REASON FOR THE NAME

A recurring awakening is happening across our great nation, recurring as we struggle to dismantle many remaining remnants of slavery. Each awakening reveals another dimension of racism that continues to plague our country to this day.

The opening of the beautiful new south side high school presents Tyler residents with an opportunity to correct an injustice set in motion more than 60 years ago. That is, remove the name Robert E. Lee from the building. Perhaps records no longer remain, but it would be interesting to know what process and reasoning led to the original naming of the school. A bit of digging reveals a likely motive.

The landmark Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954, declaring public school segregation unconstitutional, created a massive wave of outrage and resistance to desegregation throughout the south. One of the unfortunate consequences was a surge in the construction of Confederate monuments as well as school and street namings. Interestingly, most of the high schools named for Robert E. Lee other than those dedicated following Reconstruction, opened in the late 1950s, including our Tyler school which opened in 1958. Was this a coincidence? I think not! Tyler resisted school integration until a 1970 court order demanded that REL admit black students.

The time to rename REL is overdue. Let it bear the name of someone that represents a desire to make Tyler a more fair, just and loving environment for all of its residents.

Michael Selman

REL class of 1969, Richardson

LIVES OR LIVELIHOODS?

There is much talk about closing the economy to save lives. But what about livelihoods? Is it justifiable that those in authority disregard the livelihoods that millions of people have spent their entire lives building? Many of these business will never come back. They were told that two weeks would flatten the curve. Then it became three months that flattened the economy.

Where is the common sense that those most vulnerable need to isolate themselves and the rest of us need to protect the economy and the livelihoods that so much blood, sweat and tears went into creating? Politics is driving bad decision making and government only has the incentive to overreact. Unfortunately we live in an era where political enemies force leaders to compromise the freedom and liberty that we are all supposed to enjoy.

Doug Towns

Tyler