A Texas student-athlete started a movement to change her high school’s name after writing a letter to the school board explaining why she'll no longer bear its name on her jersey.

According to CNN, Gertrude Lamb, an incoming sophomore at Robert E. Lee High School, said she will forgo wearing the name of the school, which is branded “Tyler Lee,” on its track jerseys. The “Tyler” portion of the name represents Tyler Independent School District in the city of the same name, and the “Lee” stands for the name of the school.

"It's just a shorter version of Robert E. Lee. It still reminds me of who he was," Lamb told CNN.

The star track-and-field athlete said she can’t continue to excel for an institution that is named after a Confederate general and racist slave owner.

“I love and enjoy the sports I play at REL.” The 16-year-old wrote, “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. He owned slaves and didn't believe people like me were 100% human let alone ever go to my very high school.”

Other students at the school have joined in with the protest and have pledged not to wear the name in solidarity. A petition, which now has over 11,000 signatures, requests that Lee High School change its name.

In 2018, community residents tried to get the school board’s support to change the name, but the ask was squashed after it failed to be seconded as a motion at a board meeting.

On Monday, the school board held a meeting where Lamb petitioned to read her letter as scores of protesters congregated outside the district's administrative office. Lamb, who is Ghanian American, wrote how damaging the harrowing image of slavery has been on her life.

"I am from Ghana, Africa where slavery first began. 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," she wrote.

The sophomore asked that the school change the name to honor “someone who we can all be proud of," per CNN.

Wade Washmon, board president for the Tyler Independent School District, released a statement on Monday, saying he hopes the board will host discussions about changing the name this summer.

"We as a board are well aware of the issues surrounding the names of both of our flagship high schools. We have heard from, and anticipate hearing more, from the community on the subject. This time in between school years will hopefully be used to discuss, and find both consensus and meaningful resolution in a unified manner," Washmon said.

Lamb’s demonstration inspired a new social media campaign popular among students of the school called We Won’t Wear the Name, which features photos of athletes who have drawn large Xs over the “Tyler Lee” name on their jerseys.

“Everyone knows what it stands for, and having to wear that and having to say we run for this person is just unreasonable,” a student at Lee High told CBS19.

Lamb said the school board has yet to respond to her letter.

Laura Owens, Lamb's adopted mother, said she and other parents are considering their options in filing a civil rights lawsuit if the name isn’t changed by the beginning of the new school year, CNN reports.

Tyler,Texas

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