Drake High renaming process advances
A process to launch a potential name change for Sir Francis Drake High School is set to begin in September, educators announced this week.
The effort — and a draft antiracism resolution for the district — spurred dozens of passionate and contentious comments at the Tamalpais Union High School District board meeting Tuesday.
Trustees took no formal action at the five-hour online session attended by more than 100 participants, but agreed to a schedule laid out for the 2020-21 school year.
On the anti-racism resolution, district officials said they would rework it to be stronger and more specific.
Drake, an explorer who is thought to have landed on the Marin coast in 1579, has been linked to the slave trade.
Although some commenters wanted the school to take down signs and all references to Drake immediately, school officials said it will be a six- to-nine-month process, culminating in August 2021.
“You have the responsibility to be bold in this situation,” said Lee Dynes, a former school employee, who urged immediate action rather than an extended process. “I support changing the name, and I think ripping off the Band-Aid would be the best way to do it.”
Opposing the name change was Duane Van Dieman, a Sir Francis Drake historian who lives in Marin. He said although Drake was involved in slave trading in his early years, he later reversed course and “liberated more than 1,000” people.
“Whatever Drake was when he was younger, he later developed a sensitivity,” said Van Dieman, who operates the website SFDrakeFoundation.org.
On the anti-racism resolution, Jonathan Edward, a Marin resident, said it “falls flat” and had “weak language.” He and others said that in order to have any effect, the resolution would need specific action items, such as a direct line of accountability for suspects in hate crimes, for example.
“Even the white students who dealt with harassment at Drake were not treated fairly,” said Danielle Huhn, a Drake graduate.
Liz Seabury, the school principal, said a school committee would make the decision on whether to change the name. The actual choice of a new name would be up to Tam district trustees, based on recommendations from the high school.
The committee will include teachers, parents, students and staff members, Seabury said. The first meeting is set for Sept. 9.
Drake teacher Dan Freeman said 112 of 118 faculty members he polled supported the name change. A staff committee at the school has been working on the issue for several months, Seabury said.
Some commenters expressed confusion over why it was necessary to wait for school committee vote if the district can move ahead on its own.
Seabury said the committee, according to school bylaws, would need to hold several public forums before voting on the name change in order “to give everyone a voice.”