We are calling on all residents of Montgomery County, alumni of Montgomery County Public Schools, and their allies to demand that the Montgomery County Board of Education immediately announce that they will change the names of ALL Montgomery County Public Schools which currently represent racism or oppression. 

The bare minimum action that we, the people of Montgomery County, will accept from the MCPS Board of Education is the swift renaming of the six schools named after slave owners and a commitment to evaluate all other school names that represent racism or oppression. 

The naming of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) after known white supremacists and slave owners dates back to at least 1935, when Montgomery Blair High School and Richard Montgomery High School were established and named. In the past few months, many have come to recognize that we were not taught the full history of our nation - that the cruelty and racism of many historical figures were largely ignored. And yet, despite being the subject of growing domestic and international scrutiny, our nation continues to fail to address our racist history. The Montgomery County Board of Education has, thus far, demonstrated similar failures. The Board of Education’s refusal to change the name of schools known to be named after slave owners prevents Montgomery County from being a leader at this pivotal moment and will bring national scrutiny to our community if the Board continues to do nothing. 

Montgomery County has long prided itself on being a national leader in diversity, inclusion, and equity issues [3]. Our embrace of diversity is what sets Montgomery County apart from other D.C. suburbs and increases demand in our area. However, the Montgomery County Board of Education has thus far failed to reflect our County’s values. 

As early as August of 2019, the Board of Education was provided with a countywide Report in which MCPS staff members, Montgomery County historians, and student researchers from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, identified Montgomery County schools named after slave owners. [5]. Despite being made aware that at least six Montgomery County Public Schools were named after verified slave owners, the Montgomery County Board of Education has done nothing.  

For years we, as a community, have allowed at least 8,000 students of color [2] to be sent to Montgomery County Public Schools to learn about themselves and the world around them in buildings brandished with the names of documented slave owners and white supremacists. Not only have the names of these oppressors been flaunted in the faces of these students every day as they walked their own halls, hundreds of student-athletes of color have been forced to “proudly” wear these names on the fronts of their jerseys. Schools are meant to promote growth and learning in the youth of our community - not honor the oppressors of them and their ancestors. Enough is enough. We, as a community, must take action and demand better for ourselves and our friends, family members, and neighbors of color.   

Provided below are the six MCPS schools named after slave owners and one school which memorializes a person who has perpetuated other acts of racism and oppression against people of color. The student demographic information and links to evidence of these schools namesakes' racist pasts are also provided. It is important for our community to recognize that naming schools after slave owners memorializes their legacy of cruelty, racism, and oppression to the detriment of ALL Montgomery County students: 

Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Drive, Rockville, MD 20852

• 2,505 students
• 70.9% BIPOC [6] student population 
• 17.2% black student population
• https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/11/slavery-eyes-revolutionary-generals/

Colonel Zadok Magruder High School, 5939 Muncaster Mill Rd, Derwood, MD 20855

• 1,697 students 
• 70.9%  BIPOC [6] student population
• 17.8% black student population
• https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Montgomery/M;%2022-15.pdf

Mongtomery Blair High School, 51 University Blvd E, Silver Spring, MD 20901 

• 3,223 students 
• 76.1% BIPOC [6] student population
• 24.2% black student population 
• http://www.mrlincolnandfreedom.org/library/mr-lincolns-contemporaries/montgomery-blair/

Thomas S. Wootton High School, 2100 Wootton Pkwy, Rockville, MD 20850

• 2,116 students 
• 58.4% BIPOC [6] student population
• 8.3% black student population 
• https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I052667&tree=Tree1 (see “notes” section)

John Poole Middle School, 17014 Tom Fox Avenue Poolesville, MD 20837 

• 390 students 
• 31.3% BIPOC [6] student population 
• 6.2% black student population 
• http://library.uncg.edu/slavery/petitions/pDetailsNew.aspx?pID=49762&s=2

Francis Scott Key Middle School, 910 Schindler Dr. Silver Spring, MD 20903

•  1,004 students 
• ≥95% BIPOC [6] student population 
• 43.5% black student population 
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/wheres-debate-francis-scott-keys-slave-holding-legacy-180959550/

Winston Churchill High School, 11300 Gainsborough Rd, Potomac, MD 20854

• 2,274 students
• 53.3% BIPOC [6] student population
• 9.3% black student population
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/the-dark-side-of-winston-churchills-legacy-no-one-should-forget/

Since the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, our nation has found itself in a tense and heated political landscape, but we have also been given the chance to reflect and bring about the change necessary for a fresh start. Progress is, and has always been, the result of pivotal moments where communities come together to fight for their friends, families, and neighbors; where grassroots movements, made up of everyday folk, push for change that seems obvious but defines an entire era. [4]. What will be the future of Montgomery County? Will we continue to be a national leader or will we be written off in history books as another community that did not live up to its potential? History does not look back kindly on those in power who do nothing in the face of injustice and oppression. 

It is for these reasons that we demand that the MCPS Board of Education, at the very least, immediately rename the six MCPS schools named after slave owners and commit to evaluating all other school names that represent racism or oppression. Together we can assure that none of our friends, family members, or neighbors of any race, color or ethnicity are ever forced to earn their education in a Montgomery County building bearing the name of a known slave owner or white supremacist.

 

References 

[1] Mcps student population size. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-yearopens-in-maryland-with-enrollment-surge-in-montgomery-county/2017/09/04/ef72a664-8f24-11e7-84c0 02cc069f2c37story.html.Accessed : 2020 − 08 − 20. 

[2] Montgomery county public schools: At a glance 2019-2020. Accessed: 2020-08-20. 

[3] Opinion: Promoting action on diversity, equality and inclusion. https://www.marylandmatters.org/2019/12/20/opinionpromoting-action-on-diversity-equality-and-inclusion/ Accessed: 2020-08-20.

 [4] Progress. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/progress/ Accessed: 2020-08-20.

[5] Review Group Says Six Montgomery County Schools Named After Slave Owners. https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/review-group-says-six-montgomery-county-schools-named-after-slave-owners/

[6] BIPOC is an acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Black can refer to dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia or their descendants without regard for the lightness or darkness of skin tone, and who were enslaved by white people. Indigenous, here, refers to ethnic groups native to the Americas, and who were killed en masse by white people. People of color is an umbrella term for non-white people, especially as they face racism and discrimination in a white dominant culture. https://www.dictionary.com/e/acronyms/bipoc/

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