Online petition draws attention to Florida school named after first KKK Grand Wizard

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An online petition with more than 78,000 signatures requests a reconsideration of the name of a Florida high school christened after the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Nathan Bedford Forrest High School, of the Duval County School District in Jacksonville, opened in 1959 and was named after the Confederate Army Lieutenant General during the Civil War who joined the KKK around early 1867.

Forrest was reportedly the first KKK Grand Wizard for a term of roughly two years. He disbanded the first incarnation of the KKK in 1869 and distanced himself from the group in the ensuing years.

Though the Change.org petition has gained nationwide attention, the Duval County School Board has final say on any name change.

Five years ago, the county school board voted 5-2 to keep the name, though the board contains all new members, the petition states.