News you might have missed: High school drops Confederate name to honor John Lewis

This week, a Virginia school is renamed in honor of civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, Rhode Island embraces LGBTQ families, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivers a powerful rebuke to misogyny.

Read on to see what else you might have missed this week in the news.

Fairfax County school removes name of Robert E. Lee and honors Rep. John Lewis

The Fairfax County Public Schools board voted unanimously Thursday night to rename its Robert E. Lee High School after Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), the civil rights icon who died earlier this month.

“It is hard to imagine a more fitting replacement for a disgraced Confederate general than a civil rights icon,” Karl Frisch, a school board member, told the Washington Post.

Lewis marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was the last surviving speaker from the famous march where King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. Lewis was elected to Congress in 1986, where he continued to fight for issues of equality and justice.

The new name will go into effect this school year.

House passes bill to end Muslim ban

The House of Representatives voted 233-183 on Wednesday to end Donald Trump’s travel ban on 13 countries, often referred to as the Muslim ban. The bill would also prevent future presidents from implementing similar measures.

“This ban never had anything to do with national security; it was always driven by prejudice,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the bill, said in a press release following the vote. “Today’s vote is a victory for the countless families who have been needlessly separated by this hateful policy.”

Trump was forced to issue three different versions of the ban after the first two were ruled unconstitutional by the courts. The final version was upheld by a 5-4 vote of the Supreme Court.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is unlikely to hold a vote on it, Vox reported.

Pro-LGBTQ bill signed into law in Rhode Island

Rhode Island on Tuesday ditched outdated language with a new law recognizing the diversity of modern families, including LGBTQ parents, unmarried parents, and blended families.

The Rhode Island Uniform Parentage Act simplifies the way the state deals with parental rights, including parents who adopt, use a surrogate, or use assisted reproduction techniques.

“Love is love — it’s as simple as that,” Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement about the new law. “Our state’s adoption and parentage laws are significantly outdated, especially toward our state’s loving LGBTQ parents who want nothing more than to love, protect and be responsible for their children.”

Minnesota governor signs police reform bill into law

On Thursday, Minnesota became the latest state to implement police reforms following nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer.

The law, signed by Gov. Tim Walz, bans neck restraints like the one used against Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis. It also bans chokeholds and training techniques critics say may lead to the use of excessive force.

“These critical reforms are long overdue — they are meant to strengthen transparency and community oversight,” Walz said on Thursday.

Virginia law allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s license

Virginia is providing a path for undocumented immigrants to receive a driver’s license thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday.

The law removes a requirement that applicants for a license show proof that they are legally allowed to be in the country.

“In addition to giving members of Virginia’s immigrant community the ability to legally drive a vehicle, this driver privilege card legislation will make obtaining valid identification accessible to all Virginia residents, regardless of their immigration status,” Northam said in a statement.

Automatic voter registration is coming to New York

New York residents will soon have an easier time registering to vote after the Legislature passed automatic voter registration this week.

The bill, which passed the Assembly on Thursday after passing the Senate the day before, would mean New Yorkers will be automatically registered to vote when they interact with government agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Health Department.

“The passage of automatic voter registration means adding one million new voters to the rolls, including those New Yorkers historically most subject to disenfranchisement,” Perry Grossman, an attorney with the New York Civil Liberties Union, told WIVB.

The bill, which still needs to be signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would go into effect in January 2023.

Jody Daniels to become first woman to lead Army Reserves

After 112 years, a woman will lead the Army Reserves for the first time in its history.

Newly promoted Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels has been cleared to take command of the service branch.

Daniels has a doctorate in computer science, was deployed in Iraq, and has served as a career intelligence officer.

“Jody is smart, experienced, approachable and is a gifted leader,” Mark Quantock, a retired Army officer who knows Daniels well, told USA Today. “Really happy to see her break another glass ceiling as the Chief of the Army Reserve.”

Watch: AOC inspires in powerful speech

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) delivered a powerful rebuke of Rep. Ted Yoho, the Republican congressman who verbally accosted her on the steps of the Capitol earlier this week.

“My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr. Yoho treated his daughter,” Ocasio-Cortez said on the House floor, in response to Yoho calling her a “fucking bitch.”

“My mother got to see Mr. Yoho’s disrespect on the floor of this House towards me on television,” she continued. “And I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men.”

Ocasio-Cortez noted that “this issue is not about one incident. It is cultural. It is a culture of lack of impunity, of accepting of violence and violent language against women, and an entire structure of power that supports that.”

Read a full transcript of Ocasio-Cortez’s speech here.