Mississippi school named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis to be renamed after Obama

An elementary school in Jackson, Mississippi, will be renamed after President Barack Obama instead of its original namesake, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, leaders announced Tuesday.

Janelle Jefferson, president of the Parent Teacher Association at Davis Magnet IB, said the decision was made earlier this month after school stakeholders voted to rename the school Barack Obama Magnet IB, The Clarion Ledger reported.

RELATED: Barack and Michelle Obama through the years

“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,” Janelle Jefferson told the outlet, which also noted that 98 percent of the students who attended the school this year are black.

According to the local paper, the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees approved a policy that permitted the PTA and Davis community with the control to rename the school.

Mississippi Today reported that staff, parents and students were able to submit name ideas to the PTA and later voted to name the school after the former president on Oct. 5.

SEE ALSO: Trump falsely claims Obama didn't call grieving military families

Janelle Jefferson said the community wanted to rename the school “to reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves.”