Advertisement Petition circulating to change name of Wade Hampton High School 16-year-old says learning racist, slave-owning history of Civil War general 'disgusted me' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A petition is in the works to change the name of Wade Hampton High School. The Change.org petition, which now has more than 500 signatures, was started by 16-year-old Asha Marie, a junior at the school. She asked that her last name not be used. To see the petition, click here. Hampton was a lieutenant general in the Confederate army, a U.S. senator and the 77th governor of South Carolina. He was also a prominent slaveholder in the Southeast, according to several history books mentioned in the petition.? In part, the petition says: "In South Carolina, we love our country. Wade Hampton did not. He fought to destroy it. "In South Carolina, we treat everyone with respect. Wade Hampton did not. "In South Carolina, we remember our history, but we do not glorify racists and slaveholders." Some South Carolinians, like Mike Couch, disagree with the petition. "You want to rewrite history, you want to purge history, you want to take away everything, and it's a campaign to discredit the South and southern cause," Couch said. Greenville County schools said the petition has not yet been sent to the board of trustees. In a statement, a district spokesperson said: “This petition appears to have been initiated by a student, but has not yet been presented to the GCS administration or Board of Trustees. Though the Board of Trustees is responsible for naming school facilities, state statute forbids the removal of a historic figure’s name from a public structure without a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly.” Marie said she came up with the idea of the petition after moving to the Greenville area and starting school in the fall. "Not knowing who my school was named after, and just being curious, I decided to dig around a little bit," she said. "What I found appalled me." Marie is biracial, and learning that the school's namesake was "not only a Confederate war general fighting for slavery, but also owned more than 3,000 slaves, openly supported and gave money to the KKK and Red Shirts (a group that used violence and killed about 150 black people to stop them from voting) disgusted me," she said. "My school prides itself on 'leading like generals,' and honors Wade Hampton III and his legacy. While I agree that bravery and standing up for what you believe in is 100 percent commendable, the legacy we honor is one that is full of racism and hate. "This petition is meant to gauge support and spread awareness for a change that is not only wanted, but needed. I'm tired of hearing hate speech in the hallways, and I'm tired of explaining to people that, 'Yes, I go to a school named after a racist.'