Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the school board would vote Thursday, July 31.
The Corvallis School Board is slated to review a resolution renaming three elementary schools, the latest local development as public institutions nationwide reckon with the histories of their namesakes.
A special meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, and will be available to view on the Corvallis School District’s YouTube channel.
The three elementary schools in question were named after American Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Hoover. The school board resolution would remove the names immediately, with renaming to come at a late date. Other school names are also up for a reconsideration process.
At the root of the issue is each man’s past. Jefferson owned slaves and supported the institution of slavery, Wilson left behind a legacy of institutional segregation and racism, as well as notably having screened the landmark white supremacist film “The Birth of a Nation” at the White House, and Hoover acted against Black Republicans to aid white Democrats in the South. He also opposed immigration to the U.S.
“Systemic racism and racial oppression have plagued our nation for over 400 years and is evident in national, state and local institutions,” the school board resolution states. “Our community and nation’s future requires that systemic racial oppression be dismantled … the removal of a historical figure’s name from a building does not constitute erasure from history, but a conscious choice to amplify those societal values that must be taken into the future to promote equity, and ensure all children are able to thrive and grow.”
By Cody Mann
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