Bruce Lee tops poll to rename US schools dedicated to Confederate general Robert E. Lee
- Hong Kong martial arts superstar comes up trumps in Mother Jones vote to replace Robert E. Lee's name at US schools
- Jokey poll comes as schools looking to avoid association with Confederate general name themselves after other Lees to save on rebranding costs
Bruce Lee is the greatest Lee of all. That’s according to an online poll inspired by a trend in US schools looking to ditch their association with the American Civil War general Robert E. Lee.
Robert E. Lee – a white supremacist who fought for the Confederacy of states that wanted to retain slavery – has been memorialised in the names of schools across the southern United States.
But as awareness of racial inequality in the country has spread in the wake of Black Lives Matter and other social justice movements, students and staff alike have become uncomfortable.
That creates a problem for cash-strapped school districts who would have to pay out huge amounts of money – some more than US$1 million – to replace signs, uniforms and other paraphernalia.
And that’s where Bruce comes in.
