An Austin elementary school will be named for an acclaimed Depression-era photographer after the school board decided it should no longer carry the name of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The school board for the Austin Independent School District voted 8-1 Monday to change the name to Russell Lee Elementary. Lee, who lived in the neighborhood, was the founding professor of the University of Texas photography department.
When asking for name replacement suggestions, the district said it got about 240 submissions, with the most popular being Donald J. Trump Elementary.
The campus advisory council though named three finalists, which in addition to Russell Lee included Bettie Mann, the school's first African-American teacher, and Wheeler's Grove, a nearby park where African-Americans used to gather to celebrate the emancipation of slaves.
