Georgia Elementary School To Be Named In Honor Of Michelle Obama

Source: MOHD RASFAN / Getty

An elementary school in metro Atlanta is going to be named after our forever First Lady.

According to reports from CNN, the Clayton County Board of Education voted last week to rename South Clayton Elementary School the Michelle Obama STEM Elementary School. Ophelia Burroughs, a member of the school board, says this move shines a light on accomplished women and promotes inclusivity for future generations.

“I just felt like there aren’t many places named after women,” Burroughs said to CNN. “We are trying to push forward in our society, because we have been left behind for so long.”

A school in the Clayton community being named after Michelle Obama makes sense, as she has connections to the community through her great-great-great-grandmother. The New York Times traced Obama’s ancestry back to Melvania Shields in 2009. Since then, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that Shields was enslaved on a farm in Rex, Georgia in Clayton County. This very fact helped sway the school board to name the building after Michelle Obama.

As of now, the school is set to open in Jonesboro in July as the board awaits Obama’s approval. If our forever First Lady chooses to decline the gesture, the school will be named after the late civil rights activist and Georgia politician, Rep. John Lewis, who finished second in the voting.

If Michelle approves, this won’t be the first school in the Atlanta area named after the Obamas; There is already a  Barack and Michelle Obama Elementary School in the city.

Michelle Obama is currently blazing full steam ahead towards the November 3rd presidential election as she’s recently partnered up with NBA star LeBron James and other star athletes to sponsor an early voting campaign in major U.S. cities. Mrs. Obama’s When We All Vote and James’ More Than A Vote will join forces to provide information, transportation, food, music, personal protective equipment, and additional support at early voting sites around the country from October 18th to the 31st.