Virginia high school could be renamed for interracial couple over Lee

ARLINGTON, Va. - (AP) - A northern Virginia high school that is removing Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's name could be renamed for an interracial couple.

A 21-member committee appointed by the Arlington County school board is recommending that Washington-Lee High School be renamed as Washington-Loving.

The proposed new name would honor Mildred and Richard Loving, a Virginia couple whose legal challenge led the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the state's law banning interracial marriage.

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A second option proposed by the committee would be to rename the school Washington-Liberty.

The school board decided earlier this year to remove Lee's name. The board will discuss the proposed new names at a meeting Dec. 20.

Last year, neighboring Fairfax County renamed a high school that had been named for Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart.

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