What’s in a name? That’s a loaded question when it comes to the names of public schools in the U.S., which are commonly named after historical figures. But what if the person your school is named after did something problematic: like owning slaves, being a eugenicist, or an advocate for segregation? Some students across the country are leading the charge to rename schools that are named after people who they think do not reflect the values they want in their school’s namesake. So in this video journalist and host, Myles Bess asks how do you decide if, when, and how to rename a school?
TEACHERS: Get your students in the discussion on KQED Learn, a safe place for middle and high school students to investigate controversial topics and share their voices. Click to see this video and lesson plan on KQED Learn.
What kinds of school names are most controversial?
There are basically two categories of names that tend to be the ones that people want to be removed from schools. The first, is the name of confederate leaders, like Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and the other category is much more general with figures that have some kind of problematic past. For example, other names on the school name chopping block include former slave owners like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, people associated with the KKK, like Nathan Bedford Forrest, eugenicists like Lewis Madison Terman, segregationists like Woodrow Wilson-- to name a few.
What are the main arguments FOR renaming schools named after people with problematic pasts?