Scottish clergyman’s name axed from US school due to slavery connections

THE name of an 18th-century Scottish minister has been axed from a prestigious school in

America – because of his links to slavery.

More than 1,500 people signed a petition calling for the John Witherspoon Middle School in Princeton, New Jersey, to be renamed.

Born in East Lothian in 1723, Rev Dr John Witherspoon served as a minister in Beith, North Ayrshire, and Laigh Kirk, Paisley, in Renfrewshire.

He emigrated to New Jersey in 1768 to become president of Princeton University and became one of the founding fathers of the United States.

For decades, Witherspoon’s name adorned the public school as a tribute to his achievements in his adopted homeland.

But a campaign, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, called for the school to be renamed after students said it honoured the “slave-owning anti-abolitionist”.

Witherspoon is said to have owned slaves to help farm his 500-acre country estate, and both lectured and voted against the abolition of slavery in New Jersey.

The school is now known by the temporary name of the Princeton Unified Middle School until a new, permanent title is chosen in summer 2021.

Geoffrey Allen, a former pupil of the school, started the petition, which read: “In the midst of the ongoing support of the Black Lives Matter movement, this has created the opportune moment for John Witherspoon Middle School to rid itself of its slave-owning and anti-abolitionist namesake, John

Witherspoon. The town of Princeton has made clear demonstration of their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Princeton Public Schools have issued multiple statements against racism for black employees and students.

The petition adds: “This change is imperative, as the school’s name and Witherspoon’s legacy creates a hostile environment.”