The decision San Francisco Schools Board to replace the names of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and other prominent historical figures from dozens of public schools is opposed by local residents, officials, and advocacy groups.

The San Francisco Board of Education voted 6-1 on Tuesday for a resolution calling for the removal of the names of those “who have participated in the submission and enslavement of people; or oppressed women and stunted social progress; or whose actions resulted in genocide; or who have otherwise severely restricted the chances of those of us having the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness, ”said the text the dissolution.

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The renaming process was led by a committee formed in 2018 to investigate the names of schools amid a national reckoning of races that followed the deadly white supremist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Schools to be renamed include Abraham Lincoln High School, George Washington High School, Dianne Feinstein Elementary, Roosevelt Middle School, Jefferson Elementary, and Alamo Elementary.

While Washington and Thomas Jefferson were chosen for being slave owners, Lincoln, best known for leading the US to defeat the Confederation and take action to abolish slavery, was named because of him reported Treatment of Native Americans.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) Name is on the list after the former San Francisco mayor allegedly ordered the replacement of a Confederate flag after it was demolished. the Sacramento Bee reports.

“This is an opportunity for our students to learn about the history of the names of our school, including potential new ones,” said Executive Chairwoman Gabriela López in a statement. “That resolution got into the school board after the attacks in Charlottesville, and we’re working with the rest of the country to dismantle symbols of racism and white supremacy. I’m curious to see what ideas the schools will come up with. ”

Schools have until April to propose new names that the board will vote on.

But the move has sparked criticism for a variety of reasons.

“This is a little joke. It’s almost like a parody of left activism, ”said Gerald Kanapathy, father of a kindergarten child at a school in San Francisco that is not on the list to be renamed The Associated Press.

Lope Yap Jr., vice president of the Alumni Association of George Washington High School in San Francisco, opposed the board’s decision.

“We believe that politics, whether socialist, conservative or independent, if you honor the truth in history, must be put aside,” said Yap The New York Post. “We don’t want to delete anything.”

“They forget that abolitionists praised Abraham Lincoln,” he told the point of sale.

After the vote, the Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed (D), slammed the decision and questioned the board’s priorities.

“I understand the meaning of the name of a school, and the name of a school should evoke a sense of pride in every student who walks through its doors, regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation,” Breed said in a statement.

“What I can’t understand is why the school board is putting forward a plan to have all of these schools renamed by April if there isn’t a plan to have our children back in the classroom by then,” she said, as the schools always do are still closed due to the corona pandemic.

Now more than 9,000 People signed an online petition urging school boards to “stop wasting time and money renaming schools and focus on educating our children”.

Interest group families also for San Francisco on the other hand and said it was a top-down process where the board made the decision without properly consulting experts and the wider community.

The San Francisco Board of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Changing America.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – America’s founding fathers received a reprieve Tuesday in San Francisco when the city’s scandal-ridden school board officially overturned a plan to rename 44 schools as part of a racist settlement that critics said went too far.

The city’s education committee, which met on Zoom, unanimously voted to honor its much-criticized decision to remove the names of a third of San Francisco public schools associated with racism, sexism, and other injustices. Among them were schools named after Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Also on the list was a school named after long-time Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Tuesday’s 6-0 ruling means school boards will overturn their vote from January and come back on the matter after all students have returned to full-time study in person. It does not set a specific schedule.

The renaming debacle was one of several self-inflicted controversies the San Francisco School Board faced during the pandemic, along with numerous lawsuits and public ridicule.

Parents, students and elected officials have blown the board over some of its goals – and timing. The decision was made in late January when all of San Francisco’s public classrooms were closed due to coronavirus restrictions. You still are. Mayor London Breed called it “offensive and totally unacceptable”, among other things, for the board to focus on changing school names rather than bringing children back into the classrooms.

Some of the city’s youngest students are expected to return to face-to-face classes this month after more than a year of distance learning due to the pandemic. There is no schedule for the return of middle and high school students.

The renaming efforts have also been criticized for historical inaccuracies and inferior research that consulted Wikipedia rather than historians.

A renaming advisory committee falsely accused Paul Revere of attempting to colonize the Penobscot people. It also confused the Alamo Elementary School’s name with the Battle of Texas rather than the Spanish word for poplar.

“While we’re at it, how about the renaming of San Francisco,” wrote columnist and city clerk Carl Nolte after the vote in the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that the city was named by missionaries after a Roman Catholic saint. “That clearly fits in with the guidelines for a new name.”

Feinstein Elementary made the list because when she was mayor in 1984 it was decided to replace a destroyed Confederate flag that was part of a longstanding exhibition outside City Hall. When the flag was pulled down a second time, it was not replaced.

“It feels like the truth has won this time,” said Seeyew Mo, head of the San Francisco family, of Tuesday’s vote. His group opposed the renaming and drew attention to the inadequate research.

“I’m glad they came to their senses – after legal proceedings and public pressure,” said Mo, who also opposed the board’s “top-down process”, in which a small group made the decision without the wider school community . “A lot of people agree with the idea of ​​revisiting names, but they just disagree with how it was done.”

The renaming process was led by a committee formed in 2018 to investigate the names of the county schools amid a national reckoning of racial injustice that followed deadly clashes at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schools and institutions across the country are considering changing their names as the country re-evaluates its heroes.

The San Francisco committee noted that anyone “who has engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of people, or who oppressed women, is holding back social progress, or whose actions have resulted in genocide, or who otherwise enhance the opportunities of those of us who have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness “should not have schools named after them.

The result sparked an outcry in California that the net had been thrown too far and ridicule on social media and right-wing news sites for reviling political correctness that had gone wrong.

Board chairwoman Gabriela Lopez said in February that the process would be paused until all the children were back in school. Lopez admitted in a statement that mistakes had been made in choosing schools and said that if the board got back on the issue, they would hire historians for a “more deliberative process”.

Since the vote on the name change, the board has faced several lawsuits. The city of San Francisco took the dramatic step of suing the school district and board of directors to pressure both of them to reopen classrooms faster. Another was filed in March by San Francisco attorney Paul Scott, whose children attend public schools, claiming the school board’s renaming decision violated California open assembly law and did not involve the community.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman issued a ruling asking the board to do what the lawsuit requires – overturn the vote and dissolve the renaming committee – or show by April 16 why he shouldn’t be forced to do so.

The resolution passed on Tuesday ignored the criticism but condemned the lawsuit, saying it wanted to “avoid the distraction and wasteful use of public funds in frivolous litigation”.

Tuesday’s meeting was also the first since the board voted last week to remove one of its members, Alison Collins, from her role as Vice President and other titles over 2016 tweets about Asian Americans.

In the tweets, Collins said that Asian Americans are using “white supremacy” thinking to move forward. She defied calls to resign and last week sued the school district and five of her six colleagues for violating her right to freedom of expression. She is demanding $ 87 million in damages.

The historian Harold Holzer described the school authorities’ first attempt at renaming as “overcorrection”. Holzer objects to the removal of Abraham Lincoln’s name from a high school, which, according to the San Francisco committee, was due to the treatment of Native Americans during his tenure.

“I know people want to be inspired and not worship false idols,” said Holzer, Lincoln Scholar and director of the Roosevelt House of Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. “But to be honest, for me there is still no better example of American history at its highest idealism than Abraham Lincoln.”

In the midst of the Civil War in 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the Confederation, among other achievements that included rising out of poverty to become president, fighting for equal opportunities, and saving the country from division .

“If Lincoln doesn’t win, we’re in big trouble,” said Holzer. “The performances so far outweigh the mistakes. I think he deserves praise.”

This story has been corrected to show that the City of San Francisco sued its school board, but the lawsuit was not filed by the mayor.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – America’s founding fathers received a reprieve Tuesday in San Francisco when the city’s scandal-ridden school board formally overturned a plan to rename 44 schools amid what critics considered to be an over-the-top racial bill.

The city’s education authority that convened on Zoom unanimously voted to reverse its much-criticized decision to strip the names of one-third of San Francisco’s public schools. Among them were schools named after Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Also on the list was a school named after long-time Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Tuesday’s 6-0 decision means school authorities will withdraw their vote from January and will re-examine the matter after all students return to full-time study in person. There is no specific schedule.

The renaming debacle was one of several self-inflicted controversies the San Francisco School Board faced during the pandemic, along with numerous lawsuits and public ridicule.

Parents, students and elected officials blew up the board over some of its goals – and timing. The decision was made in late January when all public classrooms in San Francisco were closed due to coronavirus restrictions. You still are. Mayor London Breed called it, among other things, “offensive and totally unacceptable” that the board focused on changing the names of the schools rather than bringing the children back into the classrooms.

Some of the city’s youngest students are expected to return to face-to-face teaching this month after more than a year of distance learning due to the pandemic. There is no return schedule for middle and high school students.

The renaming efforts have also been criticized for historical inaccuracies and poor research, in which Wikipedia rather than historians were consulted.

A renaming advisory board falsely accused Paul Revere of wanting to colonize the Penobscot people. It also confused the Alamo Elementary School’s name with the Battle of Texas rather than the Spanish word for poplar.

“While we’re at it, what about the renaming to San Francisco?” Wrote columnist and town clerk Carl Nolte after the vote in the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that the town was named by missionaries after a Roman Catholic saint Guidelines for a new name. “

Feinstein Elementary made the list because, when she was mayor in 1984, it was decided to replace a destroyed Confederate flag that was part of a longstanding exhibition outside City Hall. If the flag was pulled down a second time, it was not replaced.

“It feels like the truth won this time,” San Francisco family leader Seeyew Mo said of Tuesday’s vote. His group rejected the renaming process and drew attention to the flawed research.

“I’m glad they came to their senses – after legal proceedings and public pressure,” said Mo, who also protested the board’s “top-down process” in which a small group made the decision without the wider school community. “A lot of people agree with the idea of ​​revisiting names, but they just disagree with how it was done.”

The renaming process was led by a committee established in 2018 to investigate the names of county schools as part of a national settlement of racial injustices following deadly clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schools and institutions across the country are currently considering changing names when the country re-evaluates its heroes.

The San Francisco committee noted that all persons “involved in the submission and enslavement of people; or oppressed women and stunted social progress; or whose actions resulted in genocide; or who has otherwise severely restricted the opportunities of those of us to have the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness ”should not have named a school after them.

The result sparked an outcry in California that the web was too widespread, and social media and right-wing news sites that denied political correctness went wrong.

Board chairwoman Gabriela Lopez said in February that the process would be suspended until all the children were back in school. Lopez admitted in a statement that mistakes had been made in the selection of schools and said when the board came back on the matter it would involve historians for a “more deliberate process”.

Since the renaming, the board has received several lawsuits. The city of San Francisco took the dramatic step of suing the school district and board of directors to pressure both of them to reopen classrooms faster. Another motion was filed in March by San Francisco attorney Paul Scott, whose children are attending public schools. The school board’s renaming decision violated the California Open Congregation Act and did not involve the community.

San Francisco Supreme Court Justice Ethan Schulman issued a ruling urging the board to do what the lawsuit calls for – to overturn the vote and dissolve the advisory committee on the renaming – or by Jan. To show April why he shouldn’t be forced to do so.

The resolution passed on Tuesday ignored the criticism but denounced the lawsuit, saying it wanted to “avoid the distraction and wasteful spending of public funds in frivolous litigation.”

Tuesday’s meeting was also the first since the board decided last week to remove one of its members, Alison Collins, from her role as Vice President and other titles over 2016 tweets about Asian Americans.

In the tweets, Collins said that Asian Americans are using “white supremacist” thinking to get ahead. She defied calls to resign and last week sued the school district and five of her six colleagues on charges of violating their freedom of speech. She is demanding $ 87 million in damages.

The historian Harold Holzer called the school authority’s first attempt to rename an “overcorrection”. Holzer does not agree to remove Abraham Lincoln’s name from a high school, which, according to the San Francisco Committee, was due to the treatment of Indians during his tenure.

“I know people want to be inspired and not worship false idols,” said Holzer, a Lincoln Scholar and director of the Roosevelt House of Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. “But to be honest, for me there is still no better example of American history at the highest level of idealism than Abraham Lincoln.”

In the middle of the Civil War in 1863, Lincoln issued the Declaration of Emancipation, which freed slaves in the Confederation, including achievements out of poverty to become president, fight for equal opportunities and save the country from division.

“If Lincoln doesn’t win, we’ll have big problems,” said Holzer. “The previous successes outweigh the mistakes. I think he deserves recognition. “

This story has been corrected to show that the City of San Francisco sued its school board, but the lawsuit was not filed by the mayor.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way without permission.

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A San Francisco district is planning to rename a school named after Abraham Lincoln because the former president did not demonstrate that ‘black lives mattered to him’.

The president, who is often held up as an American hero for abolishing slavery, is just one of 44 historical figures soon to have their names scratched off schools within the San Francisco Unified School District.

Other names include George Washington, Herbert Hoover and Senator Dianne Feinstein, whose name will be stripped from the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School for allowing the Confederate flag to fly outside City Hall back in 1984 when she was mayor.  

The renaming of the schools comes as part of a nationwide reckoning around racial justice that has seen Confederate flags banned, military bases renamed and statues toppled of racist and Confederate figures across America in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.  

A San Francisco district is planning to rename a school named after Abraham Lincoln because of his treatment of Native Americans. Pictured Abraham Lincoln High School

The district’s renaming committee decided Lincoln is not worthy of keeping his name on Abraham Lincoln High School because ‘the majority of his policies proved to be detrimental to [Native Americans].’  

‘Abraham Lincoln is not seen as much of a hero at all among many American Indian Nations and Native peoples of the United States, as the majority of his policies proved to be detrimental to them,’ the committee meeting notes state. 

Under his watch, Indigenous peoples had much of their land taken away from them.

In 1862, the Homestead Act, where citizens could claim ownership 160 acres of land, and the Pacific Railway Act, which gave railroad companies permission to build a transcontinental railroad through America ‘led to the significant loss of land and natural resources, as well as the loss of lifestyle and culture, for many Indigneous peoples’, the committee said. 

In 1864, the Lincoln administration then oversaw the deportation of the Navajo tribe from their land in what is now Arizona.

The tribe was forced to march a brutal 450 mile journey to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico.

The president, who is often held up as an American hero for abolishing slavery, is just one of 44 historical figures soon to have their names scratched off schools within the San Francisco Unified School District

Jeremiah Jeffries, the man in charge of school renaming, whose Nation of Islam parents inspired him

Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee and a first grade teacher

The man behind the renaming of 44 of San Francisco’s schools is a first grade teacher who was influenced by his parents – both prominent members of the Nation of Islam – who set up their own Islamic school.    

Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee, revealed in an interview his mother told him ‘There’s nothing mysterious about progression. It’s working instead of wishing.’  

She and her husband set up the  Sister Clara Muhammad School that serve a predominately African-American Muslim population.

The Nation of Islam, which is defined as an organized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay teachings and rhetoric of black superiority over whites.  

Jeffries also led San Francisco’s largest school boycott when he encouraged 200 families to send their children to protest the closure of a school, rather then to lessons in 2006.  

In 1999, Jeffries hit headlines nationwide when he held a protest against teachers spending their own money on school supplies. 

The San Francisco School District increased the school supply budget for the first time in decades as a result. 

He has also carved out a reputation as a power-broker for the district’s Board of Education, using his influence to get at least four candidates – teaching professionals – appointed. 

Jeffries grew up in Philadelphia as one of seven children.  

At the age of 12, after his sister was shot dead, Jeffries had his first taste of working in education as a janitor at a childcare center.  

He later went to the University of Virginia, where he first got involved in racial justice activism with the Black Student Alliance including getting the first black woman into student office.  

When he moved to San Francisco he cofounded Teachers 4 Change and, later, Teachers 4 Social Justice activism groups alongside Mark Sanchez – who is also on the renaming committee.  

Teachers 4 Social Justice was set up to ‘help teachers build their practice and become better teachers’, holding annual conferences and social justice workshops each year and pushing for education policy reforms.  

Currently, he is overseeing the name change for 44 of the district’s schools after the renaming committee ruled the namesakes are inappropriate or racist.      

The walk became know as the ‘Long Walk of the Navajo’, with at least 200 dying on route and over 2,000 dying during conflict before a treaty was signed in 1868 granting the Navajo permission to set up a reservation.

Lincoln was also behind the largest mass hanging in US history, where 38 Dakota men were condemned to death in Minnesota in 1862 for their part in the Dakota War. 

He did, however, commute the sentences of 264 others, preventing them meeting the same fate. 

Other reasons for the president’s ousting include ‘rampant corruption in the Indian Office, the precursor of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, continued unabated throughout Lincoln’s term and well beyond’ where government-appointed Indian agents stole resources meant for tribes.  

‘The history of Lincoln and Native Americans is complicated, not nearly as well known as that of the Civil War and slavery,’ Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee and a first grade teacher, told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

‘Lincoln, like the presidents before him and most after, did not show through policy or rhetoric that black lives ever mattered to them outside of human capital and as casualties of wealth building.’ 

Jeffries said the committee decided on the renaming once they discussed Lincoln’s treatment of Native Americans, and that the positive parts of his record cannot discount the negatives. 

‘The discussion for Lincoln centered around his treatment of First Nation peoples, because that was offered first,’ he said. 

‘Once he met criteria in that way, we did not belabor the point.’ 

The move has become the source of some debate, however, as – to many – Lincoln is one of the greatest presidents America has seen with his leadership during the Civil War and abolition of slavery a critical and progressive moment in the move toward racial equality across the nation.  

In 1854 in Peoria, Illinois, he said: ‘My ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.’  

In 1863, he then issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring ‘that all persons held as slaves’ within the rebellious states ‘are, and henceforward shall be free.’   

Yet, he also made a number of racist comments, such as arguing that there is a physical difference between black and white races and that he favored the ‘superior’ position assigned to the white race in 1858.

‘There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality,’ Lincoln is quoted as saying. 

Harold Holzer, a Lincoln scholar and director of the Hunter College’s Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, said he disagrees with the renaming of Abraham Lincoln High School. 

‘He saved the country from dividing and ruin,’ he told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

‘He should be honored for it.’  

Measuring the worth of historical figures by modern standards is problematic, he said. 

‘Nobody is going to pass 21st century mores if you’re looking at the 18th and 19th centuries,’ he said.  

Senator Diane Feinstein (left) will have her name removed from Dianne Feinstein Elementary (right) because she allowed the Confederate flag to fly in front of San Francisco City Hall in the 1980s

Roosevelt Middle School (left) faces a rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt’s (right) opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people

Labor leader César Chávez (above) can keep his name on César Chávez Elementary despite his derogatory comments about undocumented immigrants

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S RACIAL LEGACY

• Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky
• He was president from 1861-65
• He was shot dead in April 1865 in DC  

In 1854 in Peoria, Illinois, he declared his opposition to slavery, saying: ‘My ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.’ 

Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the country moved into the third year of the Civil War. 

Lincoln’s proclamation had declared ‘that all persons held as slaves’ within the rebellious states ‘are, and henceforward shall be free.’ 

***  

In 1852 Lincoln said he rejected ‘both extremes’ on the slavery debate. 

Lincoln said in 1858 he was against racial equality: ‘There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality.’

In 1862 Lincoln told black leaders during a visit to the White House that they were to blame for the Civil War, saying: ‘But for your presence amongst us, there would be no war.’ 

Lincoln told journalist Horace Greeley his priority was saving the union, saying: ‘If I could save the union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.’

Frederick Douglass in 1876 said Lincoln was ‘preeminently the white man’s president, entirely devoted to the welfare of white men’. Douglass continued: ‘He was ready and willing at any time during the first years of his administration to deny, postpone, and sacrifice the rights of humanity in the colored people to promote the welfare of the white people of this country.’

All eight presidents whose names currently adorn schools in the district will soon be erased. 

The decision to remove many of these is less controversial than Lincoln’s, however. 

Herbert Hoover Middle School is to be renamed over the namesake’s role in redlining – the segregation of black families – when he was secretary of commerce.

And Roosevelt Middle School faces a rebranding over President Theodore Roosevelt’s opposition of civil rights and black suffrage for black people. 

Modern figures haven’t been spared from the cut either.

Feinstein, who was Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988 and has since served as a Democrat California Senator since 1992, will have her name removed from Dianne Feinstein Elementary because she allowed the Confederate flag to fly in front of San Francisco City Hall.

During her time as mayor, she also oversaw the eviction of the Filipino neighborhood Manilatown and ‘allowed police dogs to attack Filipino veteran elders’, the committee ruled. 

Jeffries said Feinstein has never made amends for these failings.  

‘On a local level Dianne Feinstein chose to fly a flag that is the iconography of domestic terrorism, racism, white avarice and inhumanity towards black and indigenous people at the City Hall,’ Jeffries said. 

‘She is one of the few living examples on our list, so she still has time to dedicate the rest of her life to the upliftment of black, First Nations and other people of color. She hasn’t thus far, so her apology simply wasn’t convincing.’ 

Meanwhile, the committee ruled that legendary labor leader, community organizer, and Latino American civil rights activist César Chávez can keep his name on César Chávez Elementary school.

Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 which then merged with the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee to become the United Farm Workers.  

The union helped improve working conditions and pay for Latino farm workers in California, Texas, Arizona and Florida. 

However, Chávez also made repeated derogatory comments about undocumented immigrants and called for their deportation.   

How Lincoln had 38 Sioux fighters hanged and saved 265 others 

In 1862, the Sioux went to war because they believed their land and homes were being stolen by white settlers in Minnesota, and were aggrieved by late payments from the government. 

The uprising, known as the Dakota War, lasted six weeks and killed hundreds of soldiers, settlers and Native Americans before the Sioux surrendered to Lincoln’s forces.   

In the aftermath, a military commission sentenced 303 Sioux people to death after trials in English with no defense attorneys which lasted only three to five minutes and which the Sioux people did not understand. 

Lincoln reviewed ‘every one of these capital cases’, his biographer Harold Holzer says, and said there was evidence 39 were guilty of murder or rape and ordered their execution. 

The remaining 264 sentences were commuted, while one of the 39 condemned men was later reprieved. 

The other 38 were hanged in Mankato on December 26, 1862, in the largest mass execution in US history – just days before the Emancipation Proclamation. 

The remaining Dakota people were driven out of Minnesota after the war. Most ended up in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Canada.  

He encouraged members of his union to join what he called ‘wet lines’ to stop undocumented immigrants crossing the border from Mexico to Arizona. 

He later changed stance and pledged that United Farm Workers would support legalization for undocumented ‘brothers and sisters’.

Meanwhile, Thomas Edison will be scratched off Thomas Edison Charter Academy due to his ‘fondness for electrocuting animals’. 

In total, the committee has decided to rename a third of the district’s 125 schools.

The new names have not yet been revealed and any final decision on renaming – and the choice of names – will have to be voted upon and approved by school boards.

The committee is next expected to meet in early January. 

As well as the controversy surrounding some of the historical figures, the district has also faced a backlash over its timing when teachers, students and parents are grappling with the pandemic and a switch to virtual learning. 

Back in October, San Francisco Mayor London Breed slammed the district for focusing on school names when it ‘should be focused on getting our kids back in the classroom.’ 

‘In the midst of this once-in-a-century challenge, to hear that the district is focusing energy and resources on renaming schools – schools that they haven’t even opened – is offensive,’ Breed said. 

The renaming committee was set up in 2018 by the Board of Education to consider whether the school names were appropriate and to recommend action.    

Also on the renaming committee is Board President Mark Sanchez who previously set up teachers’ activist group Teachers 4 Change with Jeffries.  

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A group of alumni have come together to sue the San Francisco school system in hopes of permanently blocking the possibility of allegedly “racist” names – including Abraham Lincoln and Dianne Feinstein – being removed from schools.

A lawsuit filed Thursday in the San Francisco County Superior Court against the San Francisco School Board and Superintendent Vincent Matthews demands that officials formally overturn the controversial renaming decision, claiming the city was wrong by not giving parishioners or historians a chance to win to complain.

Last month, school officials temporarily withdrew the school renaming plan amid public outrage, saying they would not rename the 44 schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But lawyers representing a group of alumni associations told The Post Friday that the walk-back was not legally binding.

The new lawsuit is designed to ensure the city keeps its word and follows legal protocols before any future name changes are made, said one of the attorneys, Paul Scott.

The renaming decision violates the Brown Act, according to which the school board must ensure that members of the community have a say in the matter, said Scott.

“The whole process itself was flawed because they decided whether or not to rename 44 schools with 30 minutes of public comment in one vote,” said Scott.

“Nobody was able to show up in person, and again, as I said, insufficient notification. So there were a number of issues with the process, ”the lawyer continued.

A group of alumni is suing the San Francisco School Board and Superintendent Vincent Matthews for revoking renaming of public schools with “racist” affiliations.
AP Photo / Jeff Chiu

Another alleged violation was the school board’s misrepresentation that an independent blue ribbon panel would consider changing the names of schools – the school board’s offenders were named after “racist, sexist, or oppressive” historical figures, including George Washington and Paul Revere.

“It wasn’t really independent. There was a lack of specialist knowledge. There were no historians on the committee and they ended up dictating what would happen before the school board even voted, ”Scott said.

In the lawsuit, school officials must tell the court whether they will overturn the renaming order and dissolve the committee by April 15.

“Reflecting on our national history and uplifting disadvantaged groups are both positive and necessary steps to achieve a level of social justice while reducing prejudice. They help us heal and move forward, ”the lawsuit reads.

“However, as with all of the major tests our society faces, it is critical that our solutions are considered fair in order for them to last. And in this context, nothing is more important than complying with the law and due process. “

The San Francisco School Board voted 6-1 in January to remove the names of Founding Fathers, Abolitionists, and even California’s longtime Democratic Senator from school buildings.

The move was widely planned as an overreach of “culture abandonment”. One group report found that the decisions were “arbitrary, subjective, superficial” and based on research gathered through “occasional Google searches”.

School officials had claimed Paul Revere should be canceled because the members didn’t like a benign top ten Revolutionary War list they saw on the History Channel, according to the Mission Local report.

Abraham Lincoln High School – named after the president who many historians consider the greatest in the country – was to be renamed after only five seconds of renaming, as it was labeled “discriminatory and harmful to Native Americans.”

Feinstein’s name should be removed from an elementary school because it replaced a Confederate flag that was removed by a protester when she was mayor of San Francisco.

Even the famous bohemian neighborhood of San Fran The Mission was unsuitable for adornment at a school because “all CA missions are places of slavery and colonization,” reported the school’s renaming committee.

“If you want to have a discussion about school names, it should be done in a context where there really is full and fair opportunities for public input, and it should come from individual school communities and individual school stakeholders,” said Scott.

“The parents, the teachers, the staff, the alumni – everyone has a fair opportunity to make contributions and decide whether they want to do so for their respective schools.”

Liberal law icon Laurence Tribe of Harvard University is among the lawyers who filed the lawsuit on Thursday.

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