by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Generations of young black children in Jackson, Mississippi, have suffered the indignity of attending a school named after a racist icon. Black children make up ninety-eight percent of the school population of the Davis IB Elementary School, an institution that was named for Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was not only a slave owner who saw blacks as property rather than human beings, he was also a pivotal figure in the government that fought to free itself from the United States of America.
Jefferson Davis was a traitor who plotted and fought to keep blacks in the chains of slavery, yet today his name is still emblazoned across an institution whose primary mission is the education and betterment of black citizens.
Well, the name of Jefferson Davis won't be casting a pall over that school for much longer.
A student at the school who realized that it was "named for a person who didn't agree that they (black children) should thrive educationally - or any way in life - or really be considered human beings" began the push the change the school's name. The movement picked up community support, and recently the school's governing board voted to officially change the name of the school to honor Barack Obama, the nation's first black President. The change will take effect with the next school year.
There are currently twenty-one schools bearing the Obama name in the United States including two named for former First Lady Michelle Obama.
What's in a name? Things like inspiration, self-determination, and pride.
Congratulations to the young people of Jackson, Mississippi, as one more cold vestige of segregation bites the dust. Next year they will be able to lift their heads higher as they march into a school whose namesake made them proud and will continue to be a source of pride and inspiration for generations to come.
Citizen Journalist
Generations of young black children in Jackson, Mississippi, have suffered the indignity of attending a school named after a racist icon. Black children make up ninety-eight percent of the school population of the Davis IB Elementary School, an institution that was named for Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis was not only a slave owner who saw blacks as property rather than human beings, he was also a pivotal figure in the government that fought to free itself from the United States of America.
Jefferson Davis was a traitor who plotted and fought to keep blacks in the chains of slavery, yet today his name is still emblazoned across an institution whose primary mission is the education and betterment of black citizens.
Well, the name of Jefferson Davis won't be casting a pall over that school for much longer.
A student at the school who realized that it was "named for a person who didn't agree that they (black children) should thrive educationally - or any way in life - or really be considered human beings" began the push the change the school's name. The movement picked up community support, and recently the school's governing board voted to officially change the name of the school to honor Barack Obama, the nation's first black President. The change will take effect with the next school year.
There are currently twenty-one schools bearing the Obama name in the United States including two named for former First Lady Michelle Obama.
What's in a name? Things like inspiration, self-determination, and pride.
Congratulations to the young people of Jackson, Mississippi, as one more cold vestige of segregation bites the dust. Next year they will be able to lift their heads higher as they march into a school whose namesake made them proud and will continue to be a source of pride and inspiration for generations to come.
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