Georgia county votes to name elementary school after Michelle Obama
Education officials in Clayton County, Ga., voted this week to name a local elementary school after former first lady Michelle Obama. A spokesperson for the Clayton County Board of Education confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday that the body voted in favor of renaming the school, which had previously been called the South Clayton Elementary School, in a 7-2 vote earlier this week.
The board is now reaching out to Obama for approval for the new name. If greenlighted by the former first lady, the school, which is in Jonesboro, will be named the Michelle Obama STEM Elementary School. The school has recently been undergoing construction, which is set to last until next summer, according to local media.
The board had also considered naming the school after late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), whose former congressional district spanned part of Clayton County. The two members who voted against naming the school after Obama also cited their preferences to name the school after Lewis during the vote earlier this week.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the former first lady has history linked to the local county. The local outlet reports that Obama’s great-great-great-grandmother had been enslaved on a farm in Clayton County. The vote comes several months after a school district in California also voted to rename one of its elementary schools in honor of the former first lady back in February.
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/520083-georgia-county-votes-to-name-elementary-school-after-michelle