Midland ISD released the following statement regarding a social media petition to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School:
The Midland ISD Board of Trustees and district administration is aware of the national conversation surrounding confederate symbols. The history of Robert E. Lee High School dates back to the late fifties when a three-and-one-half million dollar bond was passed by this community to build a new high school. The Midland ISD school board members at that time named the school after General Robert E. Lee and the campus opened in 1961.
Since that time there have been initiatives to change the name of this high school. Due to recent national events this issue has garnered renewed attention. It is important for this community to understand that board policy guides the naming of any school. The public is welcome to review district policy that guides the naming of school buildings, campuses, facilities and installations [CS (Regulation)]. District policy can be reviewed by visiting our website www.midlandisd.net.
Yeah. Just yesterday they said that Lee High would no longer be allowed to play âDixieâ. This is a big deal, because thatâs their fight song. Apparently the decision was a mutual decision between the band director and the Lee High principal, with the Superintendent agreeing.
Just to noteâMidland ISD just hired a new Superintendent, who is black, and came to us from a predominantly black school district south of Dallas.
What Iâm unclear ofâdid the band director and principal make the decision with a gun pointed to their head?
This is going to cause a shtstorm in this community. Not opining on the rightness or wrongness of it. (I donât care, because I didnât grow up here and didnât go to school here. But I can assure you that there are a lot of others who do care.)
Mike Winchell: You ever feel cursed, Coach? Like, no matter what, inside your heart you feel that youâre gonna lose. Like somethingâs hanging over you, following you like a witch or a demon that just⌠I feel like that all the time. Even when things are going good. When weâre winninâ, itâs there. And when weâre losinâ, itâs there. Coach Gary Gaines: It took me a long time to realize that, uh, there ainât much difference between winninâ and losinâ, except for how the outside world treats you. But inside you, itâs about all the same. It really is. Fact of the matter is, I believe that, uh, our only curses are the ones that are self-imposed. You know what Iâm sayinâ? We, all of us, dig our own holes.
Coach Gary Gaines: Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. Itâs not about winning. Itâs about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didnt let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasnt one more thing you couldâve done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman - youâre perfect!
Yes, Midland is a good 300 miles west of Dallas, almost to the New Mexico border. Itâs probably about the same distance from Houston as Boston is from Washington, DC.
