School Board votes to rename 3 schools
District says the Portsmouth buildings have racist namesakes
Portsmouth’s School Board voted Thursday night to change the names of three schools whose namesakes are tied to racism.
The names of Wilson High School, along with James Hurst and John Tyler elementary schools, will begin to be changed on July 1.
Wilson High School alums began publicly calling for new names in a Change.org petition after widespread protests this summer against police brutality and systemic racism sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The School Board formed a committee in August to review the names and make a recommendation to the board. At Thursday’s meeting, the motion passed 8-1 with board member Ted Lamb voting no.
The newnames are Manor High School for Wilson High, Waterview Elementary for John Tyler Elementary and Cradock Elementary for James Hurst Elementary. Board member Costella Williams, who led the committee, said the idea was to name the schools after their communities in order to unify the students.
“It’s inclusive of everyone, and then no one has any reason to feel any kind of way except just taking pride in the community,” Williams said.
Some board members were worried about the cost. A report presented by superintendent Dr. Elie Bracy estimated that it will cost $423,670 to change Wilson High School’s name and about $10,000 each to change the elementary schools’ names. Williams said some who opposed
the name change originally claimed it would cost $3 million.
Sarah Hinds, who voted yes, said she was worried they were “going into it blindly” and that there wouldn’t be room in the budget. Lakeesha Atkinson responded that price shouldn’t stop them from voting yes.
“If we focused on cost and finances, we still would be in slavery. The schools never would have been integrated,” Atkinson said.
Claude Parent added that he had the “utmost confidence” that Bracy and his staff could execute the plan. The changes won’t happen all at once, instead taking place in stages. The phases of the rollout haven’t been determined.
For Wilson High, this is the second time the school has gone through this process. Until the early 1990s, it was called Manor High School. Many alums from that time have been vocal supporters of the current initiative to change the names.
In an alumni petition, they wrote, “Woodrow Wilson was a
“If we focused on cost and finances, we still would be in slavery. The schools never would have been integrated.”
— Lakeesha Atkinson, Portsmouth Public Schools board member
demonstrated bigot. ... His name should not grace any building that educates African Americans — or any other group of children.”
President Woodrow Wilson, a Virginia native who was in office from 1913-21, was responsible for the re-segregation of federal departments and spoke out against voting rights for Black people. He also praised the Ku Klux Klan and screened D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” at the White House despite protests.
The two elementary schools also have problematic namesakes. President John Tyler described slavery as “evil” but was a slaveholder his entire life and supported the westward expansion of slavery.
James Hurst Elementary was named after a Norfolk County superintendent. The school system Hurst ran from 1920-41 was segregated and offered a lesser education to Black students. According to a Pilot article from 1941, Black residents protested when Hurst fired three Black principals and replaced them with white principals.
Although it will be a long process to change the names, many residents feel it’s long overdue.
“Remove the stain,” Williams said.
“Let’s move forward in a progressive manner, and do what’s best for all of our citizens of Portsmouth.”