Atlanta school named for KKK leader renamed for Hank Aaron
Baseball legend Hank Aaron speaks at the LBJ Presidential Library on January 22, 2015. (Photo by Lauren Gerson.) (Lauren Gerson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
ATLANTA - An Atlanta high school named after a Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader will change its name to honor late Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
This week, the Atlanta Board of Education unanimously voted to change Forrest Hill Academy to Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy.
The school had previously been named for Nathan Bedford Forrest, a general for the Confederacy who was known as the first grand wizard of the KKK.
Renaming the school after Aaron was one of the options on the school's shortlist. However, Atlanta Public School policy states that schools can only be named after those who "have been deceased for five years" unless that restriction is with a unanimous school board vote.
The change is expected to go into effect later this year.
Aaron died in January at the age of 86. " Hammerin’ Hank " set a wide array of career hitting records during his 23-year span, ultimately breaking Babe Ruth’s home run record while enduring racist threats.
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