The Houston school board has voted 5-4 to rename four campuses named for Confederate loyalists and postponed decisions on four other schools.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the board approved a plan to find new names for Henry Grady, Richard Dowling and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson middle schools and Robert E. Lee High School. Board members put off decision on four other schools – to allow for more discussion.
All five minority board members voted for the name changes. Before the vote, James Douglas, president of the NAACP of Houston, urged trustees to eliminate Confederate loyalists from school names.
Board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones came out in favor of renaming schools soon after the June 17 shooting deaths of nine black church worshippers by an alleged white supremacist in Charleston, S.C.
Texas State Sen. Rodney Ellis also had promoted name changes, after his push in 2014 to have the Houston district eliminate school mascots offensive to Native Americans.
The board approved a policy in October that says school names "must respect cultural differences and values."
The name-changing process calls for a committee at each school, including a teacher, student, parent and alumni, to propose a new name, and the board will make decisions in May.
MORE: View a video of the Houston school board meeting.
