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US-SCHOOL-RACISM-HISTORY
San Francisco to scrub Lincoln, Washington and other names from 44 schools
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Presidents George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln are no longer in favor in San Francisco, where the school
board has voted to change the name of 44 schools it says bear the monikers of
people associated with racism, slavery or colonization.
The move, which has sparked much controversy locally, dates back to the
creation of a commission in May 2018 to revise the names of public schools,
long before statues of Christopher Columbus or figures from the US’
Confederate south were toppled by anti-racism protesters in the wake of
George Floyd’s police killing.
The commission created a list of 44 schools to be renamed, such as that
bearing the name of Spanish missionary Junipero Serra.
Among them are schools named for presidents Washington and Thomas
Jefferson, both of whom owned slaves, as well as Francis Scott Key, the
author of the US national anthem.
Surprisingly, Abraham Lincoln — the symbol of the abolition of slavery in
the US — is also under fire, accused by some of having played a role in the
massacre of Native American tribes.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, 87, is also on the list, which the
school board approved in a six-to-one vote.
The commission accuses her of replacing a vandalized Confederate flag that
flew among approximately 20 others in front of San Francisco’s city hall,
while she was mayor in the 1980s.
The flag, which originated in the pro-slavery south during the US Civil
War, has become a symbol of racial discrimination and white supremacy.
The decision to rename schools has sparked sharp criticism, including from
the current mayor of San Francisco, London Breed.
Breed, who is the city’s first Black, female mayor, criticized the school
board’s decision to focus its energy on renaming schools at a moment when the
education system is facing an uphill battle to reopen amid the coronavirus
pandemic as well as hardships associated with virtual homeschooling.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 0918 hrs