The NAACP in Virginia's Hanover County is suing the local government and the school district over the use of Confederate names and symbols at a high school and middle school.

The lawsuit , filed Friday in the Richmond-based U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, argues that Lee-Davis High School and Stonewall Jackson Middle School violate the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act with their use of Confederate names and imagery.

"Forcing public school children to use Confederate names as a condition of participation forces them to engage in speech they disavow, in violation of their First Amendment right to be free of compelled speech," court documents posted by WTVR-TV in Richmond state. "Forcing African American students to attend a school rife with Confederate imagery and veneration creates a school environment that denies students of color an equal opportunity to an education and violates their right to Equal Protection under the Fourteenth Amendment."

Lee-Davis High School is a public school named after Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, the political and military leaders of the Confederacy. The school's sports teams and student body are called the Confederates and the school's mascot is a Confederate soldier.

Stonewall Jackson Middle School is named for Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a prominent general in the Confederate army. The school's sports teams and student body are called the Rebels, a reference to Confederate soldiers.

"The Confederacy and its leadership are inextricably intertwined with the history of slavery in America and continue to be symbols of racial oppression and hatred," the lawsuit continues.

The NAACP argues that compelling African American students to identify as Confederates or Rebels subjects them to racism and harassment that "has significant psychological, academic and social effects." Additionally, the organization said it indicates that African American students are not welcome and the "tradition" the schools honor is one that includes the defense of slavery and racial inequality.

"This case seeks to eradicate the vestiges of a shameful, racist educational system in Hanover County that forces African American students to champion a legacy of segregation and oppression in order to participate in school activities," the lawsuit states.