Sophomore athlete pens powerful letter to school district explaining why Robert E. Lee High should change its name - as she pledges to not to wear Confederate general's name on her jersey

A Texas high school athlete has penned a powerful letter urging her school, named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee, to change its title.

Gertrude 'Trude' Lamb is a star cross country athlete for Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler but says with each victory and medal she wins, her jersey emblazoned with Lee's wears her down. 

Lamb, who moved to the US from Ghana, Africa in 2014, shared her poignant message to school district leaders who met on Monday, urging for officials to end the glorification of the controversial figure who owned slaves.

'I love and enjoy the sports I play at REL. I can't be playing sports, supporting, and going to a school that was named after a person who was against my people right here in the United States,' the rising sophomore wrote as per CNN.

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Rising sophomore and cross-country athlete Gertrude 'Trude' Lamb has penned a powerful letter to the Tyler Independent School District  in Texas demanding her school - Robert E. Lee High School - change its name

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She's a rising sophomore at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler and is ashamed that 'Lee' appears on her jerseys during cross-country races.  Lamb and the other top three runners on her team have all pledged not to wear Lee's name on their jerseys until the school name is changed

'He owned slaves and didn't believe people like me were 100 percent human let alone ever go to my very high school. I cannot bear and will no longer wear his name on my race jersey,' she said. 

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Robert E. Lee was the controversial general of the Confederate Army in the Civil War and was known as a slave owner

'I'm currently the fastest girl on your varsity cross country team. I held that place my 9th grade year and plan to do the same my 10th grade year...As one of your black students, I'm respectfully asking you to take up the REL name change issue.'

Lamb says Lee is even glorified in the school's alma mater which says: 'Robert E. Lee we raise our voice in praise of your name. May honor and glory e'er guide you to fame.' 

'What has he done for him to be praised like that?' Lamb said.

Locals had tried to push the school board to change the name of the high school in 2018 but the motion failed to gain traction at a school board meeting.

The action to rename the school comes as Confederate monuments and figures - including statues of Robert E. Lee - have been toppled and become the focal point of protests decrying racism in the US.  

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Other students are pledging not the wear Lee’s name and a petition has been launched calling to rename the school and has already racked up over 10,000 signatures

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On Monday between 250 and 300 protesters clamored outside of the school district’s administration office as a meeting was being held inside to urge the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees to change the school's name. Protesters taking a knee above

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Protesters carried signs that said 'Black Lives Matter' and 'We Won't Wear The Name'

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Board president of the Tyler Independent School District Wade Washmon said in a statement Monday that he hopes the Board can discuss the name change this summer. However, Lamb has not received a response to her letter

Now Lamb’s powerful letter is the arm of a new push to change the school’s name.

Other students are pledging not the wear Lee’s name and a petition has been launched calling to rename the school and has already racked up over 10,000 signatures.

Lamb and the other top three runners on her team have all pledged not to wear Lee's name on their jerseys until the school name is changed.

Some have also called for another school in the district, John Tyler High School, to be renamed as its named after the tenth US president who worked to create the Southern Confederacy.

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A view of Robert E Lee High School in Tyler, Texas above

On Monday between 250 and 300 protesters clamored outside of the school district’s administration office as a meeting was being held inside to urge the Tyler ISD Board of Trustees to change the school's name, as per CBS19.

Although changing the schools’ names weren’t on the agenda Lamb signed up to read her letter to meeting attendees.

'I am from Ghana, Africa where slavery first began,' she said.

'I have stood in the dungeons of the slave castle and seen the three foot urine and feces stains on the walls where my brothers and sisters were kept. I've seen the tiny hole at the top of the ceiling where they would throw food in to the captured souls. 

'I don't see a future of remembering a person who did nothing for our country and who didn't care for me or my people. He continues to bring our city down,' Lamb said.

Lamb's jersey says 'Tyler Lee' to stand for her city and the Confederate leader. She says she wants her school to be known for 'someone who we can all be proud of.'