Edmond Public Schools, a district in Edmond, Oklahoma has 17 Elementary Schools. One of their most notable, Charles Haskell Elementary, was built in 1983. Named after the first governor of Oklahoma, CHE has a school mascot (Charlie the Racoon) and refers to its students as ‘Haskell Rascals’.

Here’s why this is outrageous.

Charles Haskell was notoriously conniving and prejudiced. People referred to him as ‘Haskell the Rascal’ (Hence the name they’ve given their students). He supported the blockage of women and people of colors’ suffrage. He also fought for the segregation of people of color. This is just a beginning to the horrible things he did. Charles Haskell may be a part of our history, but he should not be a part of our present. To not only name a school for our future’s children after someone who fought for oppression of women and minorities, but to label them as his nickname and glorify his memory is no longer bearable.

We want to make it clear that this is not an attack against Edmond or CHE, but rather a way to show what the community thinks of how we represent our children. There’s plenty of other Oklahomans worth renaming the school for. Please don’t glorify the honor of someone who fought to segregate the races and genders of the students in your school. Be on the right side of history.

Some may say that history should be preserved. Others may say this is an overreaction. But when groups of people are oppressed for centuries, it’s malicious to immortalize those who enforced said oppression. Hannah Diggs Atkins was the first black woman elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She pursued a terrific career where she served 6 terms and notably fought for Oklahomans’ mental health, and improved her community. O.W. Gurley was responsible for the creation of the Greenwood District, or as was referred to in its time before the Tulsa Race Massacre, “The Black Wall Street”. He sold his land to people of color only, but lost everything in the massacre. These are just 2 people whose impacts on Oklahoma were monumental. There’s hundreds of others more deserving than Haskell.

Please, think of the children we’re raising. Edmonds motto is “A Great Place to Grow”. Let them grow into strong, intelligent, glorious flowers. Water them with the purest of water, not water soiled with traces of discrimination and prejudice. Charles Haskell will always be in our books. But we will fight to honor those more deserving than him.