Palm Beach Editor Supports School Name Change

From:  Bob Young  pensreb@cheney.net

Subject: Florida Heritage Violation
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 10:15 AM

Compatriots,

Here in Florida we have had a recurring problem over the renaming of Jefferson Davis Middle School. In the past this effort has been stirred up by the Palm Beach Post which like most newspapers is no friend to our
Southern Heritage. Randy Schultz is trying to create a change in the school name. Here are some addresses you may use if you wish and a repeat of his article.

Palm Beach Post
P.O. Box 24700
West Palm Beach Fl. 33416-4700
Tel# (561) 820-4658
Fax# (561) 837-8400
Randy Schultz
schultz@pbpost.com

Sincerely for The South,

Bob Young
Commander Florida Division
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 1999

The Palm Beach Post
Randy Schultz

Name school for Chiles ?

No, rename

Lawton Chiles became famous for walking. After he died unexpectedly last month, however, you knew a race would follow to name something in his memory.  Rep. Suzanne Jacobs, D-Delray Beach, won, proposing that the Palm Beach County School Board name the new high school in Boynton Beach after the former governor.

It's a nice thought, given all the children's health programs Gov. Chiles started, but Rep. Jacobs picked the wrong school. Boynton Beach has worked for years to return a high school to the city in hopes of
attracting young families. Mayor Jerry Taylor wants the city's name on the school when it opens in the fall of 2001.  Even though Mayor Taylor is a Republican, his sentiment probably reflects that of most Boynton Beach residents.

Also, you have to be careful when choosing such memorials.  Broward County named a high school for Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who fought throughout her life to save the Everglades.  But the school is in Parkland, on land that was part of the aboriginal Everglades and was drained to accommodate suburban sprawl in northwest
Broward that threatens the Everglades.

Since we're on the subject of names, however, here is a better question for the Palm Beach County School Board: Why, after all these years, does a middle school still carry the name of the president of the,
Confederate States of America?

'Jefferson' Davis became 'Jeff'.  Of the county's 137 public schools, I count 21 named for people. There is a school named for an architect (Addison Mizner); for Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in the
challenger explosion; and for a Florida Senate president and banker (Jerry Thomas).

There are schools named for business and civic leaders (Alex Dreyfoos and William Dwyer), for educators (such as U.B. Kinsey and H.L. Johnson) and American presidents (Washington, Lincoln, Eisenhower and Kennedy).

And there is Jefferson Davis Middle School, named for the man who led the 11 breakaway states during what still is the bloodiest conflict in American history.

"I never thought about it," said School Board Chairwoman Sandi Richmond. "Actually, I'm embarrassed that I hadn't thought about it." The school is less than a mile from district headquarters on Forest Hill Boulevard west of West Palm Beach.

The board may not think about it because, over time, the school has become known simply as "Jeff Davis." Blacks who held a grudge might have figured that it was one more slight they had to endure.
And those who worry that fewer Americans know history might suggest that people don't think about it because not many people know who Jefferson Davis was: a successful farmer who married well, a congressman and senator who served with distinction in the Mexican War and believed whites had the right to own blacks.

Symbolic points in larger struggle.  A name, of course, matters less than what goes on inside the school. By all
accounts, Principal Sandra Jinks and her staff work very hard to inspire the roughly 1,550 students. And Ms. Jinks, who is very proud of "Jeff Davis," said there has been talk about discussing a name change, perhaps
after the students complete the new Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

I'm not suggesting that parents of black students at the school should start protesting. But today's sensibilities are not those of pre-Civil Rights Act 1961, when Jefferson Davis Middle School opened.
Forget all the tired arguments about what the South supposedly stood for during the Civil War or the War Between the States or the War of Northern Aggression. Palm Beach County in 1999 would not consider
naming a school for Jefferson Davis any more than the county would consider naming a school for Louis Farrakhan.

"In fact, I would be appalled if anyone suggested something like that," Dr. Richmond said. In a county still working to provide an equal education for minority students, removing Jefferson Davis' name would acknowledge a past mistake and score some symbolic points in the larger struggle.

Not long after I first spoke with her on Thursday, Dr. Richmond called back to say that she intended to bring up the issue and try to "work through the school advisory committee. We might even name it for Gov. Chiles. He visited the school (during the 1994 campaign) and was very supportive."

Since the late governor renounced segregation early in his political career, that   tribute would be fitting. Whoever gets the honor, make it someone who tried to bring people together, not drive them apart.

Randy Schultz is editor of the editorial
page of The Palm Beach Post. Comments
about the Opinion section may be sent to him
at schultz@pbpost.com