Protesters stage rally to preserve Drake name
Neighbors and alumni of Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo say they are not comfortable with the ongoing name change process and are going public even as voting continues.
Drake alumnus Bill Hamm led a car caravan Sunday morning along Sir Frances Drake Boulevard from San Rafael to Drake’s Beach in West Marin to protest what he called a waste of time and money.
“This call to action is for those of us who understand the moral issue, but want to stop the madness of thinking we can change history by changing the name of a boulevard, business, school or even America,” Hamm said. “Let’s learn from the past, but better utilize our community’s time and resources.”
Community voting for the final four names continues until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday on the high school website at tamdistrict.org/ highschool1327.
Voters will select one from each of two brackets: Awani-wi versus Olema Trail; and Creekside versus Bon Tempe. A student-created voters guide for the four choices is posted on the school website. After the list is narrowed to two names, a student debate on the two finalists will be livestreamed to the public on March 22.
The district board will receive the winning name suggestion from the school this spring and will vote on whether to adopt it.
In a letter to the Tamalpais Union High School District board of trustees, Sleepy Hollow resident Alex Dixon said that although he was not opposed to the name change, he was annoyed that school officials such as Liz Seabury, the principal, were orchestrating it under what he called “a veneer of democratic legitimacy.”
“Principal Seabury has abetted a process that ignores the majority of our voices,” Dixon wrote.
“Though she claims to be a champion of diversity, she allows no diversity of opinion,” he said. “Though she claims to promote inclusion, she has deliberately excluded dissenting voices.
“And finally, she claims to promote unity, though in the 27 years since I first moved to Marin, I
have never seen our community more divided.”
Seabury declined a specific response to the letter, referring instead to the detailed process the school followed and that is spelled out in its bylaws. As per regulations, the Drake Leadership Council, an elected panel of students, parents, teachers and staff, has overseen the process since September.
After a series of required outreach sessions and forums, the Drake Leadership Council voted in November to change the name. Then panel members narrowed the 500-plus name suggestions that had been submitted last year down to 79. That list was narrowed to nine names after the first round of voting. About two weeks ago, the list was whittled to four.
Calls for changing the name of the high school — along with changing the name of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard that cuts eastwest through more than 40 miles of Marin — surfaced amid the Black Lives Matter campaign that followed the death of George
Floyd during an arrest last year in Minneapolis.
Proponents of the change said the name Sir Francis Drake is offensive because of the 16th century English explorer's ties to slave trading and colonialism. They said any change of name should recognize Marin's Indigenous people, the Coast Miwok.
Of the final four name suggestions, both Awaniwi and Olema Trail have Coast Miwok roots. Awani-wi, which was submitted by members of the Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin, is the name for the ancient Coast Miwok village that covered land now in San Rafael and San Anselmo. Olema Trail is the ancient name for the path that connected Awani-wi with the village of Olema in West Marin.
San Anselmo resident David Sorensen said Awani-wi in modern English has an awkward double meaning.
“How in the heck did we let ‘Awani-wi' in the top four contenders for name changes of the high school?” Sorenson wrote in a social media post. “Put your White guilt on hold for a second and think like a kid. It sounds ridiculous.”
“Every team these poor kids play in sports at other schools are going to taunt them, saying things like, ‘I wanna wee! I'm soooo scared!'” Sorenson said. “I beseech you, please vote for any other name besides that one.”
Fairfax resident Veronica Geretz disagreed.
“How disrespectful,” she wrote. “We voted for that name because we are centering Coast Miwok voices and their request. That is the entire point of the name change, to acknowledge its upholding of White supremacy within historical honoring of names. Mocking that
name is mocking Miwok's language.”
Meanwhile, students and teachers at Drake — or High School 1327, as it has been called during the transition — say they are focusing on the school's vision for the future. Student murals displaying themes of unity, equity and diversity were posted on campus last week.
“Our school's vision statement has been in place for the past few years and we wanted to support this vision through the use of art on campus,” said Nate Severin, assistant principal.
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