The renaming ceremony was delayed due to COVID-19. In June 2020, the Prince William County School Board approved a resolution to rename Stonewall Jackson Middle School to Unity Braxton Middle School. Unity Braxton honors the legacies of Carroll and Celestine Braxton. Carroll Braxton served as Master Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps and is a Congressional Gold Medal recipient. Celestine S. Braxton was as an educator with Prince William County Public Schools for 33 years.
Principal Mike Nicely hosted the renaming ceremony in the school’s auditorium.
Several dignitaries, including Superintendent of Schools Dr. LaTanya McDade, and School Board Chairman At-Large Dr. Babur Lateef, spoke of their excitement for students and staff under the promise of the new school name.
The Braxtons’ daughter, Monique Braxton Fordham Royster, shared her thanks with the community for honoring her family’s legacy and her family members for attending.
The school at 10100 Lomond Drive near Manassas opened in 1964 and was called Stonewall Middle School. On June 29, 2020, the County School Board voted to rename the middle school and Stonewall Jackson Senior High School, which opened in 1973, to Unity Reed High School, after Arthur Reed, a security assistant who worked at the school.
The two names were chosen out of a batch of nearly 800.
Born in Virginia (present-day West Virginia), Stonewall Jackson graduated from West Point Military Academy and became one of the most effective Confederate generals during the Civil War.
