When the Midland Independent School District voted to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School on July 27, the decision was met with varying reactions.

Josh Norman and Talor Nunez, both former members of the Midland Lee football program, were among those who spoke at the board meeting.

Norman, a Lee running back from 1995-97, is in favor of the name change. Nunez, who played quarterback from 2009-12, was against the decision.

When the news broke that the board had voted 6-1 to rebrand the school, Norman said he cheered. After everything settled in, he cried.

“It’s bittersweet, honestly,” Norman said. “Growing up, I really didn’t think at 40 years old I’d be at this point having to fight for something, for simple human dignity.”

According to the Midland ISD website, the high school opened in the 1960s as a result of an oil boom in West Texas. For Nunez, Midland Lee didn’t stand for the Confederate general it was named after, it stood for family and hard work.

Nunez and his three brothers have all attended Midland Lee and his youngest brother is currently entering his senior year on the football team.

When he found out about the board’s decision, he felt disbelief.

“The thing that breaks my heart more than anything is that it’s a tradition for us in our family; we all played football at Lee and we all had that opportunity,” Nunez said. “They’ve taught so many kids to be able to do what is right, to be able to be on their own, to be able to work hard and know that bad things happen and that we can be persistent through any kind of adversity. All of those things are taught at Lee High School.”

After the meeting, Nunez and other members of the Midland community stressed that rebranding the high school might have negative financial repercussions. They want to see the school district use its funds on other things, like updating classrooms.

Norman said he believes going forward with the name change shows three things: 1. Midland recognizes a mistake that it made, and it is willing to reconcile it. 2. Midland cares about all of its students and all communities. 3. It shows virtue and love.

“To me those are greater statements than any amount of money that may be spent or any amount of people who have disdain toward the name change,” Norman said.

In a statement to YourBasin, Rick Davis, President of the Midland ISD Board of Trustees, said the school district’s next move is to appoint a Citizens Committee to come up with a new name for the high school. The committee will be made up of Midland Lee graduates, parents of the graduates and current students.

Norman said he hopes the committee will look into names like those of General Tommy Franks, former first lady Laura Bush and longtime educator Barbara Yarbrough. Each of those individuals are known for their contributions to the Midland community.

A petition to maintain the name of Robert E. Lee High School was started after the meeting by Midland County Judge Terry Johnson. The petition named “Save my history” has since been disabled by MoveOn.org “because of inappropriate content.” It had collected over 5,000 signatures.

In the future, Nunez said he wants Midlanders to come together to solve issues that arise in their city.

“I pray that the Midland community will be able to pull together in unity and grow from this,” Nunez said. “I pray that we would push forward and continue to have a high pride, have high integrity and continue to keep good morals within the community and not strive for division.”