Posted on 03/31/2021 4:59:14 PM PDT by grundle
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) -- Waukegan's Board of Education met Tuesday night as it considers changing the names of two of its schools, Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Daniel Webster Middle School.
Jefferson, who was the nation's third president, owned slaves. Webster was a former senator who supported slavery. Renaming committees were formed for each school, and included people in the community, students and staff.
The school board heard concerns from the public Tuesday night over one of the finalists in the running to be the new name for Thomas Jefferson Middle School.
The country's first Black President and First Lady, Barack and Michelle Obama, is one of the top three choices for the school's new name, but is drawing opposition in the area with a large Latinx population.
"I will not be part of renaming a school after someone who did not and does not represent the undocumented community," said District 60 school board member Edgar Castellanos. Castellanos said he came to the United States undocumented as a child.
Waukegan activist Julie Contreras works with a group that runs shelters for undocumented children at the U.S./Mexico border.
She said former President Obama failed to deliver on promises to help the immigrant population.
Contreras, who leads United Giving Hope, is organizing protests against naming the school for the Obamas.
"From the time Barack Obama became President until 2017 when he left, he today is still the highest ranking president with deportations in our nation," Contreras said. "We feel that Barack Obama did disservice to us. He denied us, and he didn't stop the deportations, the way he promised."
"I personally don't object to the name, but I have to be aware of the concerns," said school board president Brandon Ewing.
Members of the area's Latinx community held a protest outside the meeting's doors Tuesday night.
"If you're removing the name of Thomas Jefferson - one oppressor - the name of Obama is another oppressor and our families do not want to see that name," Contreras said.
Mauricio Sanchez's father was deported in 2015 under the Obama administration.
"It was something very sad," Sanchez said. "We couldn't even say goodbye to our dad. We just hoped for him to be able to get out."
His dad is still in deportation hearings to this day. The Sanchez family said the Obama name is a reminder of their current struggles.
Others who spoke about the name change endorsed another popular choice to rename the school after: Civil Rights icon John Lewis.
A final decision has not yet been made.
Perpetual grievances. Being these fools must be awfully tiring work, not that they do any real work.
This should be fun. Pass the popcorn!
Deportations? You're lucky he didn't do to you what he did to blacks - help kill half of them before they were born!
Maybe they can rename one of the schools after the famous Latino Juan Corona.
Daniel Webster was not pro-slavery but he supported the Compromise of 1850 which included the Fugitive Slave Law demanded by slaveowners. He was thoroughly denounced for that, but the compromise may have delayed the Civil War for 10 years. Who knows what the outcome would have been if the South had seceded in 1850?
“Webster was a former senator who supported slavery.”
Webster did not support slavery. Webster opposed slavery. But he did not want to see the union fractured over the slavery issue. He was also Secretary of State under three Presidents. He is considered the foremost orator in the history of the United States.
The people in the news media get more ignorant with every passing day. They literally do not know anything.
Why would you name anything after a Kenyan?
A photo finish on Daniel Webster
I took the kids up to a fishing spot called Collins Lake, and we went through Yuba City. Juan Corona was the only thing I knew about it.
I think it’s time to just CLOSE all Government Schools
These folks are not going away. We shouldn’t either. Some non functioning adults don’t even have ID’s. They shouldn’t vote.
I thought Latin X was Malcom’s bro?
So going from a guy who owned slaves to a couple that wants the entire world enslaved to a global government, yep, makes sense.
One poll had 97% of them picking a label other than Latinx, but that doesn’t matter to the media.
Named after really rich folks who live at the beach?
Name both of the schools for El Chapo.
Ha ha, illegal aliens are protesting against naming schools after the Kenyan from Indonesia.
We are ALL the way down the rabbit hole.
There’s no going back.
Ha, ha, ha, this is fun! BTW, wonder how Hispanics feel about the Spanish language being butchered by these woke nuts. Latinx.... how absurd.
Is Latin still part of the curriculum?
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