The Falls Church (Va.) school board has voted unanimously to rename two schools that carry the names of slaveowners.
WTOP Radio reports that George Mason High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary will receive new names, but those have not yet been chosen.
The vote comes despite an October community survey that found 56% of those asked opposed changing the school names.
“After deep and careful consideration of everything I’ve heard and read, I conclude that renaming both schools is in the best interest of our students and a necessary part of our equity work,” says Greg Anderson, chair of the Falls Church School Board.
A community survey conducted in October found that 56% of the community overall wanted the names to remain on the schools, including 61% of the parents of Thomas Jefferson Elementary students and 57% of George Mason High parents.
Anderson says the school board took the community's views into account.
“I considered the survey results and the community discussion that followed, and I revisited our public hearings … I conclude that the public is split, and if you go beyond the simple number, I’ve heard reasoned perspectives from those in favor of retaining the names and from those in favor of changing the names,” Anderson saya.
A major reason survey participants said they were against changing the school names is because George Mason and Thomas Jefferson were “Founding Fathers” with significant contributions to Virginia and the nation.
School board members say that they thought long and hard about the issue and developed a greater understanding of the hurt the Jefferson and Mason names can cause African American students.
“The voice of some African Americans in our community who spoke up pushed me off the fence on to the side of seeing that it is essential we change the names," says school board member Shannon Litton. "What I heard from them is that this matters.”
