Should schools that are named after slaveowners be renamed?

[Nye Bevan]

9 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes. Schools that are named after slaveowners should be renamed.
	2 (22%)
	Schools that have a predominantly African American enrollment and are named after slaveowners should be renamed.
	1 (11%)
	No. Schools that are named after slaveowners should not be renamed.
	6 (67%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[morningfog]

1. What brought this on?

[Nye Bevan]

2. Conversation at work (nt)

[hlthe2b]

3. So you want to rename any and everything named for Thomas Jefferson?

I don't celebrate the fact he owned slaves. I do celebrate his other accomplishments. So, in that particular case, I would have to say, no.

Case by case basis, I guess.

[itsrobert]

4. I think there is a whole bunch of schools named after George Washington and Thomas Jefferson

n/t

[Neoma]

5. Dunno, are you talking about dead presidents?

If so, I'm not quite sure. I mean, as long as you explain to kids that they weren't 100% awesome...which they usually don't do.

[LittleBlue]

6. No

All slaveowners weren't the same. Read about Seneca or Jefferson, for example.

http://nijaygupta.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/seneca-on-treatment-of-slaves-letter-47-a-must-read/

[NYC_SKP]

7. Modern slaveowners, no. And neither should any public thing be named after any living person.

George Bush High: http://campuses.fortbendisd.com/campuses/bhs/about.cfm

William Jefferson Clinton Primary: http://wjcp.hps.schoolfusion.us/

One could argue that, while neither owned slaves, both neglected to take steps to protect workers foreign and domestic.

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. About an hour after Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys and fired Tom Landry, Texans were screaming

for DFW to be renamed Tom Landry Field.

Cooler heads prevailed.

[REP]

8. Such as Sir John Gladstone?

[Neoma]

9. Who?

[REP]

13. A slaveowner for whom at least two schools are named

If only you had a computer hooked up to other computers all over the world, you could find out more about him ...

[LeftInTX]

10. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington?

Heck we've even got a Robert E. Lee High School near me. I found the name Robert E. Lee High School extremely offensive when I first moved here, but I was from up north. No one complains about it around here and it's got a decent sized AA student population.

Do I think new schools should be named after former confederate leaders? No

But renaming schools? I guess if the community finds the current name offensive. If no one is complaining then there is no reason.

[pnwmom]

11. How about states?

Should we rename the State of Washington?

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. beat me to it. n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

12. An elementary school I attended in suburban Atlanta was named after a guy who lynched Leo Frank!

Matter of fact, damn near everything in that county was named after one of the guys who lynched Leo Frank.

I shit you not.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. Apparently they need to start with my state. n/t

[BainsBane]

16. Like Washington and Jefferson?

Which names did you have in mind?

Changing names doesn't change the nation's history. If there is a school named for someone known only as a planter, then I would say yes, change the name. But I wouldn't advocate changing the names of schools named after Presidents. I would instead recommend giving an honest lesson in the role of slavery in our nation's history. Banishing unpleasant historical memories only creates historical amnesia, which is dangerous.