A Mississippi school named after Confederate president Jefferson Davis will be renamed for former U.S. President Barack Obama after stakeholders approved the name change.
At the current Jefferson Davis Magnet IB, 98 percent of the students are black, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
"Jefferson Davis, although infamous in his own right, would probably not be too happy about a diverse school promoting the education of the very individuals he fought to keep enslaved being named after him," PTA President Janelle Jefferson said at the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday, the Ledger reported.
The school's new name will be Barack Obama Magnet IB.
The school district is about to be taken over by the state, pending a decision by Gov. Phil Bryant to declare the district in a state of emergency so that a takeover may take place. If the takeover does happen, the school board would be disbanded, but it is likely the name change would go through for the 2018-2019 school year since it predated the takeover, the Clarion-Ledger reported.
The district also is considering name changes for other schools named after Confederate figures, the newspaper said.
The school is looking into corporate sponsors that could help pay for the name change.
Name ideas were submitted by parents, students, staff, and the community then voted on with paper ballots after students gave speeches supporting the name they preferred, Mississippi Today reported.
The board’s policy for naming schools says they must be named “for persons of good character and prominence who have made outstanding contributions to the school system” and that there must be “compelling reasons” to rename the school, according to Mississippi Today.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.