My name is Anna Le and I am an 8th-grade student at Francis Scott Key Middle School. I want to change the name of the school because Francis Scott Key was a slave owner who supported the idea of having black individuals work for them due to their skin color. It’s important to learn about the wrongs he’s done and why he shouldn’t be honored through the name of a middle school. There are many alternatives to a new name, consider this as an option for students to be proud of their school name.

Instead of having the school name, Francis Scott Key Middle School, we should rename the school Harriet Tubman Middle School. This would honor the actions Harriet Tubman has done to abolish slavery. She has helped with the underground railroad which helped enslaved people to freedom so that they didn’t have to go through the pain and sufferings of being owned. She had also recruited black soldiers for the Union army during the Civil War which was a war that argued about the abolishment of slavery. The war was between the South and North which is also known as the Union and Confederate. The Union army needed soldiers so Harriet Tubman recruited them so that they could help fight during the war. Francis Scott Key on the other hand, had owned enslaved people and was a slave owner. He has caused trauma to those who were owned by him and had them do labor instead of letting them have freedom. Equality is important and still is a problem as of May 25th, 2022. To start a change and a new beginning, we should change the name of Francis Scott Key Middle School to Harriet Tubman Middle School to honor the rightful actions she has taken to create equality for all. 

I ask of you, whoever is reading to sign this petition to have the name of this school be changed to someone more honorable and respected than someone who influenced the idea of slavery. Signing this petition will bring awareness to the cause and let’s fight for what’s right. Let’s be able to represent this school proudly without any shame.