After Backlash Intensifies, San Francisco May Not Rename Schools After All
The San Francisco Board of Education unanimously reversed a controversial decision to rename 44 public schools as part of a “racial reckoning” to erase white historical figures — including Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington — from the public consciousness.
On Tuesday, the board voted 6-0 to suspend the plan, claiming it “wishes to avoid the distraction and wasteful expenditure of public funds in frivolous litigation.”
In reality, the reversal came after the move ignited heavy backlash from both liberals and conservatives who were upset that the school board was wasting time debating names instead of reopening schools, which have been shuttered since March 2020.
The resolution, which was ratified in January, called for the renaming of dozens of public schools named after historical icons who the board claimed had “engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of human beings; or who oppressed women, inhibiting societal progress; or whose actions led to genocide; or who otherwise significantly diminished the opportunities of those amongst us to the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Among the people the San Francisco Board of Education wanted to cancel were former Presidents Lincoln, Washington, Herbert Hoover and William McKinley.
Also on the left-wing chopping block were Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere and attorney Francis Scott Key, who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Ironically, a school named after longtime Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was also on the board’s hit list.
The school board said it will revisit the issue after students return to in-person learning at some unspecified date.
In another unanimous vote Tuesday, the board “resolved” to reopen schools for all students in the fall, if public health guidelines allow. However, no specific date was set.
This board “resolution” sounds as dicey as most people’s New Year’s resolutions.
During their Zoom call to discuss the renaming issue and school reopenings, Zoe Simotas — a senior at Lowell High School — called in to scold the teachers for wasting time.
“I’m honestly here to just ask the Board of Education to pull it together. Like, please,” Simotas said.
“If you aren’t here to fight for students, we don’t want you here … and I can say that on behalf of a lot of my peers.”
Take a moment to listen to this high school senior, who called into public comment during the San Francisco school board meeting on April 6.
“I’m honestly here to just ask the Board of Education to pull it together. Like, please.” pic.twitter.com/mY5qCjHbSg
— HereSay Media (@HereSayMedia) April 7, 2021
The student’s frustration echoed the sentiments of numerous parents in San Francisco, who have been begging the board to reopen schools for months.
Erika Foots — a black single mom raising five children, including her niece and nephew — slammed the board for “failing” the 54,000 students at the 128 public schools that are part of the San Francisco Unified School District.
“Why are you guys trying to rename schools when we have children who are failing or who are not adjusting correctly to the pandemic?” Foots told HereSay Media in January. “Why aren’t we talking about those things?”
Foots said her children were climbing the walls being cooped up inside amid California’s coronavirus shutdowns and draconian lockdowns.
“As far as my children go, I feel that the school district is pretty much failing them,” she said.
It’s hilarious that the San Francisco Board of Education trashed Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson for being “racist” when its vice president, Allison Collins, slammed Asian-Americans as “house n*****s.”
Collins, who is black, joined the school board in 2018. In March, she was stripped of her title and committee assignments after her racist, anti-Trump, anti-Asian tweets from 2016 were spotlighted.
She has since filed an $87 million lawsuit that skeptics say is frivolous and laughable.
30 REASONS TO RECALL THE SF SCHOOL BOARD
19. Commissioner Collins appears biased against Asian Americanshttps://t.co/lX2Q0IhFyw pic.twitter.com/LyAe6gty13
— Recall SF School Board (@recallsfboe) March 19, 2021
This is not the first time that the San Francisco school board has come under fire for its left-wing hypocrisy.
In February, the board rejected a gay father’s application to volunteer for the school district’s Parent Advisory Council, claiming he wasn’t “diverse enough” for the unpaid role because he was white.
The fact that Seth Brenzel is the father of mixed-race children did not boost his diversity score.
In opposing his application, Collins crowed that she finds it “offensive when folks say that somebody is a parent of somebody who is a person of color as a signifier that they’re qualified to represent that community.”
The good news is, at least one race-baiting whiner is gone from the school board. Now, if only it could get rid of all the others.
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