Barack Obama it is.
A two-month process to consider a new name for Richmond's J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School concluded after a final public information session at Monday night’s city School Board meeting, when board members voted 6-1 in favor of naming the school after the nation's first African-American president.
Politicians, athletes, founding fathers and short-and-sweet adjectives were among the three dozen options considered by the “Renaming Team.” A school day was also dedicated to allowing Stuart students, more than 90 percent of whom are black, to vote on their top three choices for a potential replacement to the namesake Confederate cavalry commander. The results saw “Northside” take first place with 190 votes; “Barack Obama” was second in popularity with 166 votes and “Wishtree” placed third with 127 votes.
Former President Barack Obama campaigns with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam in 2017. (Photo by Jay Paul)
"We have so many great options to rename J.E.B. Stuart, but we did, at the end of the day, want to honor the students who will be attending the school," Superintendent Jason Kamras told the board. "I’m reminded of the quote by [Martin Luther King Jr.], ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’ so I think it would be fitting to rename J.E.B. Stuart Elementary School to Barack Obama Elementary School. So that is the recommendation of the administration."
School Board member Kenya Gibson was the lone dissenter, after attempting to defer the vote to allow more time for discussion.
"This is the first time folks in the community are seeing these three names," she said. "My other thought is there’s no local person on this list. And we’ve heard from so many people — this is Richmond and we have so much history and so many local stories to tell ... the fact there are no local names on that list indicates to me that we failed teaching our students local stories." Gibson's motion to defer a decision failed on a 4-3 vote.
The “Renaming Team” comprised students, teachers, administrators and School Board members as the process sought to whittle down a list of 36 options including “George Bush”; “Jackie Robinson” and “LeBron James”; “Michael Faraday” and “Marcus Garvey”; “Mars,” “Pine Cone,” "Smart,” “Unlimited Potential,” “Stars” and “Amazing” Elementary.
After a school-day session for students facilitated by Kamras, the seven finalist names were:
- Northside Elementary
- Wishtree Elementary
- Oliver Hill Elementary
- Barbara Johns Elementary
- Albert Norrell Elementary
- Henry Marsh Elementary
- Barack Obama Elementary
Stuart students were distributed a ballot enumerating the finalists alongside a short summary of each option to help the elementary-schoolers make informed choices and to learn more about the finalists.
The Renaming Team held multiple public input sessions from the beginning of May through mid-June, though attendance was sparse. A portion of the RPS website was also dedicated to the name change, allowing residents to provide suggestions and input online.
