Pennsylvania

Andrew Jackson Elementary no more: South Philly school celebrates new namesake, education trailblazer Fanny Jackson Coppin

By Mallory Falk March 29, 2022


When students returned to the elementary school at 12th and Federal last fall, it had a new name: Fanny Jackson Coppin. Now, it has a new sign to match.The school community gathered for an unveiling ceremony on Tuesday, cheering as principal Kelly Espinosa revealed a blue, white and yellow sign honoring the new namesake, a woman who was born into slavery and became a trailblazing Philadelphia teacher and educator.

“Our students have been excited learning about who Fanny Jackson Coppin was, what her legacy was, how she was an advocate, she was a leader,” Espinosa said. “We are excited to see how our students invest more in our school community with this change.” The South Philadelphia school, formerly known as Andrew Jackson Elementary, was officially renamed last June.

Community members had pushed for several years to remove the president’s name, part of a nationwide movement to rename schools whose namesakes have racist histories. Jackson owned enslaved people and forcibly removed indigenous people from their land, leading to thousands of deaths.

He had no significant connection to Philadelphia. “Andrew Jackson is not someone we should teach Philadelphia students to honor and admire,” read one petition to rename the school. “He represents the worst of this country’s history of enslavement and genocide.”

https://whyy.org/articles/philly-fanny-jackson-coppin-school/

Wilson Middle School getting a new name

By Tom Waring
May 24, 2022


Woodrow Wilson Middle School, 1800 Cottman Ave., is about to get a new name. The school held a Zoom call on Tuesday afternoon to announce the new name: Castor Gardens Middle School. Eighth-grade teacher Chelsea Maher, a member of the renaming committee, said Wilson’s name was recommended for changing due to the former president’s alleged connection to the KKK and re-segregation of the federal workforce. She also pointed to the diversity of the school.

Wilson served as president from 1913-21. Previously, he had been president of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey. Wilson has been dead for almost 100 years, and few people seemed to be bothered by the school name. But after George Floyd’s death in May 2020, rioters around the country began tearing down statues and busts and painting over murals of certain white people in history.

Wilson has been on the radar ever since.

In the last two years, for instance, Camden and Washington, D.C. changed the names of their Wilson high schools, and Princeton took his name off its public policy school, all done due to Wilson’s views and policies on race.

https://northeasttimes.com/2022/05/24/wilson-middle-school-getting-a-new-name/