A predominantly black elementary school named after the president of the Confederacy will change its name to honour former President Barack Obama.

The decision to rename the school in Jackson, Mississippi comes as areas in the South engage in heated debates over tributes to Confederate leaders. Critics of the school names and statues say they are accolades to the region's racist past, while supporters assert they represent history and should be preserved.

For months, parents of students at Davis IB Elementary School, named after Jefferson Davis, fought to rid the school of its Confederate reference in favour of celebrating America's first black president, according to Newsweek.

Janelle Jefferson, president of the school's Parent Teacher Association, said the new name will be more fitting for a school with a student population that is 98 per cent black.

“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,” Ms Jefferson said in a statement, according to The Clarion Ledger, a local paper.

The school's new name, Barack Obama Magnet IB, will now “reflect a person who fully represents ideals and public stances consistent with what we want our children to believe about themselves,” she added.

The name change will take effect during the next school year, Newsweek reported.

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Earlier this year, Donald Trump ignited controversy when he compared the removal of Confederate General Robert E Lee's statue to one of George Washington – three days after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville erupted into deadly violence.

White nationalist demonstrators descended on the Virginia city in August to protest the removal of Mr Lee's statue. The rally, met by counter-protests, quickly became violent – prompting the governor to declare a ‘state of emergency’.