Via SF Chronicle: School to vote on renaming Jefferson Elementary due to the fact that the founding father owned slaves.
Parents, students and teachers at Berkeley’s Thomas Jefferson Elementary School will soon vote on whether to rename their school because the nation’s third president was a slave owner.
The question of whether to rename the school has been debated for more than two years — since several teachers, including an African American mother of three former Jefferson students, said Jefferson’s moniker offended them and suggested a name change.
This is Berkeley, so I’m not surprised.
Yes, Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. He was as much a product of those times as he was the instrument that changed the worse aspects of those times. I find it hard to believe that merely changing the name of the school will solve the problems of those who are offended by being associated with one of our founding fathers.
You’d think they would have more important issues to tackle.
Do the same “offended” individuals refuse to carry a $2 dollar bill in their wallet? Would they purposefully drive a longer route if their trip pointed them toward Jefferson County, Missouri? Have they stopped watching reruns of “The Jefferson’s” on television?
The answer of course, is No.
Too many people are offended by too many things in this country. Too many dollars are spent and too much time and energy is wasted. Someone has to stop the spin we’re in.
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