Board OKs renaming San Francisco schools
The school board of the San Francisco Unified School District has agreed to move ahead with a plan to change the names of more than 40 schools that now honor presidents and other historical figures. They include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
The panel voted 6-1 Tuesday to approve the plan, which calls for removing names of those who “engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings,” “oppressed women,” committed acts that “led to genocide,” or who “otherwise significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The San Francisco Unified board’s action is part of the yearslong movement to get school districts around the country to remove the names of Confederate figures and others who symbolize the country’s racist past.
The resolution, based on the work of a committee that met for more than a year on the issue, calls on the public to submit new names for the schools by April 19 — timing that was questioned by San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
She said in a statement that she understood “the significance of the name of a school,” but: “What I cannot understand is why the School Board is advancing a plan to have all these schools renamed by April, when there isn’t a plan to have our kids back in the classroom by then.”
“This resolution came to the school board in the wake of the attacks in Charlottesville, [Va.],” School board President Gabriela Lopez said in a statement, “and we are working alongside the rest of the country to dismantle symbols of racism and white supremacy culture. I am excited about the ideas schools will come up with.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that Joan Hepperly, co-executive director for United Administrators of San Francisco, said the union supports renaming the schools but thinks the timing is rushed. And it said some school alumni associations oppose the changes.
For each name it wanted to change, the advisory committee offered a specific reason. For example:
■ George Washington High School — Referring to President George Washington, the spreadsheet says, “Slaveowner, colonizer.”
■ John Muir Elementary School — Referring to naturalist John Muir, the spreadsheet says, “Racist and responsible for theft of native lands.”
■ Dianne Feinstein Elementary School — Referring to the current senator, the spreadsheet cites a number of reasons, including an unproven accusation that she put up a Confederate flag. It also accuses her of opposing same-sex marriage, though she voted against a constitutional amendment to ban it.
■ For Abraham Lincoln High School, the explanation on the spreadsheet was far longer, saying in part that Lincoln, who freed Black slaves, “is not seen as much of a hero at all among many American Indian Nations and Native peoples of the United States, as the majority of his policies proved to be detrimental to them.”