
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 7, 1994                   TAG: 9412070149
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MELISSA DEVAUGHN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

NAACP DROPS NAME REQUEST

Representatives of the local chapter of the NAACP have withdrawn their September request to the Montgomery County School Board to rename a Christiansburg school after the Holmes family.

The Holmeses - Zedikiah, Zimri and Rosa - taught for a combined 100 years at both the segregated Christiansburg Institute and later in the integrated county schools.

Oscar Williams, spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the Holmeses made a great contribution to children of all races.

However, the request got little public support. While the Holmeses are surely deserving of this honor, opponents said, renaming the high school or middle school would be too costly.

David Moore, the board's sole black member, made the announcement at Tuesday's school board meeting. He did not offer a reason for the withdrawal.

by CNB