Status: Resolved

Established: July 1st, 1925

Resolved: February 12th, 2016

Named For: Sidney Lanier

“Houston’s Lanier Middle School initially carried the name of Abraham Lincoln, before Confederate veterans protested. They convinced school trustees in July 1925 to change the name to honor Lanier — their beloved poet laureate of secession.“ - San Antonio Express-News - 03/29/2019 - https://www.expressnews.com/news/news_columnists/gilbert_garcia/article/Should-San-Antonio-follow-Austin-s-lead-on-13725026.php

On February 12, 2016 the HISD board voted to require Lanier to again change its name in an effort to purge HISD of school names based on Confederate figures, even though the Lanier students approved of keeping the school's name. Former teacher Jim Henley stated that Lanier was known as a creative artist and that he was not known as a Confederate soldier. Mike Tolson of the Houston Chronicle wrote that since Lanier had only a small number of works, he "is not studied much these days[...]and students who are not from his native Georgia are unlikely even to know his name." Tolson argued that "For the majority minority board, [Lanier] was low-hanging fruit, along with other men who actually served the Confederate cause in a more serious way and are not studied in classes on American poetry."

In May 2016 the HISD board voted to rename the school after Bob Lanier, former Mayor of Houston. "Lanier Watchdogs", a group of Lanier parents, accused the HISD board of omitting the cost of renaming the school; this group hired Wayne Dolcefino to assist their investigation.

Columnist John Nova Lomax argued against the renaming in Texas Monthly on the grounds that Bob Lanier had a mixed political legacy.