The San Francisco school board has voted to strike the household-word names of several historic figures from its schools.
Nearly all of the figures are white males, whose contributions to American history and government hold near-legendary status.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln’s names are among those that will no longer be used for the district’s institutions, it was revealed on Jan. 26. This coverage came from DailyMail.com.
The former presidents were among the historical figures deemed by the board members to have ties to racism or have what they declared to be “dishonorable legacies.” The 6-1 vote will force 44 San Francisco Unified School District schools forced to change their names.
The controversial move follows a wave of leftist protests across the country during the summer of 2020 in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Angry mobs destroyed statues of Confederate leaders in particular.
The San Francisco decision drew anger from some lawmakers, including Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, who believe the school board should instead be concentrating on education and teaching students during a pandemic.
Among the other names on the newly banned list are Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words to the national anthem; former presidents William McKinley, James Garfield, James Monroe and Herbert Hoover; Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere; and author Robert Louis Stevenson.
