Of course, I may be over-thinking the problem. The question was, and should be "What will renaming streets or schools really, really accomplish?"
The answer needs to have a lot more substance than "Its just something we can do."
Yes, there was a bandwagon to remove perceived symbols of hate after extreme acts of violence in the name of hate. A far better reaction than retaliatory acts of violence, but no one is going to say Americans aren't prone to jumping on a bandwagon.
And yes, those symbols may have once stood for something else. In the context of a Hindu temple I understand seeing a swastika, but that symbol has otherwise been well and truly obfuscated. Some symbols will never be taken back. Others are more complex.
The reason to rename schools, roads, or remove monuments is to demonstrate that what they are now perceived to stand for is not something the community wants to celebrate. This isn't about making on group or another happy. It's about a message from the community about what it values. Generally, communities don't name a school or put up a statute to "remember history" if that isn't something they hold out as worthy of celebration or intending it to send another message. Truly, I can't think of a monument or naming right a community has done that is of something they dislike.
So when the community determines it is no longer wants to celebrate it or no longer appreciates the message, then take down the statute or rename the school. It sends the message that the community has moved on and no long wishes to celebrate whatever meaning the monument has taken on (which may or may not be the same meaning initially intended).
In the context of civil war monuments, I can't say it as well as the Mayor of New Orleans, so I won't try. I'd encourage you to read his words on why New Orleans decided to remove its statutes (a move that I admit I was kind of sad to see before reading his explanation, the "old south" atmosphere seemed like part of New Orleans nastaulgia):
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/23/read_mitch_landrieu_s_confederate_monuments_speech.htmlThese statues are not just stone and metal. They are not just innocent remembrances of a benign history. These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy, ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement and the terror that it actually stood for. After the Civil War, these statues were a part of that terrorism as much as a burning cross on someone's lawn; they were erected purposefully to send a strong message to all who walked in their shadows about who was still in charge in this city.