Once named after Confederate solider, Virgina middle school renamed after NASA's Katherine Johnson

A Virginia middle school that was once named after a Confederate soldier has been renamed in honor of Black NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

A Virginia middle school that was once named after a Confederate soldier has been renamed in honor of African American NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson. The former Sidney Lanier Middle School in Fairfax County held a renaming ceremony Friday. Lanier was a prominent American poet and private in the Confederate army. Johnson is a modern-day space legend with a legacy of being one of four Black women whose work with NASA helped pave the way for the first American astronaut to successfully orbit Earth. The City of Fairfax's school board voted unanimously to change the school's name in November 2020 after months of public debate and hearings.