Editor, Gazette-Journal:

At the last meeting of the Mathews County School Board, the decision was made to remove the name of Lee-Jackson from our elementary school. This is the latest local manifestation of the racial tension that has gripped our country in recent months.

While I do not intend to investigate the causes and motives for this tension here, suffice it to say feelings are riding higher than they have in decades. At the moment, there are many in Mathews who feel affronted and even insulted at the removal of two Virginia educators and patriots simply because their service to Virginia and the Confederacy makes a minority feel “uncomfortable.” These people see an effort to demonize their forebears and eradicate their heritage and culture. In this, these people are probably as put upon as those who are “uncomfortable” with the names of Lee and Jackson.

The naming of schools in Mathews dates to a time when there were multiple schools doing the same educational duties. T...