Nathan Beford Forrest High: Time For a Name Change

[Cheshire Cat]

^Not to mention the many of us who do share that heritage but who don't base their Southernness on venerating the Confederacy.

Keep in mind that many who are seen to be venerating the Confederacy are actually honoring the people in their lives/families who fought a battle the felt strongly enough to lose their lives over.  I am speaking in the sense of just honoring the people as opposed to the Confederate manifesto of the time.  Having had several family members who fought in the Civil War and died doing so, the fact that they fought for something that I will never be able to embrace does not lessen the valor of their convictions in their own eyes.  I also had some who fought on the side of the North and feel no differently toward them or their personal sacrifice. 

I think it is always important at times like this to realize that there were attitudes throughout the nation and even on the part of Lincoln himself that Blacks would never be equal to Whites.  The same was even true in the original constitution in which some wanted to include words protecting the right to keep slaves.

Sure, but that's not what's happening here. There's no local history tied to Forrest and that's not why the name was chosen.

For some it may be what they perceive is happening here.  I agree though that it isn't.  Forrest does not appear to be tied to Jacksonville it anyway.  It's also pretty clear considering the state of racial struggles in 1959, the naming of the school was meant to be an in your face (white guy we are in charge) statement to the Black community. Whoever this man was, whether he was KKK and then became a civil rights activist.  He has nothing to do with our local history other than his name on a school here becoming a point of contention, insult and frustration.  For me this is not a situation of political correctness.  Changing the name to me at least says that we get this man is a polarizing historical figure and that alone is enough to remove his name from a school or any government building.  It also sends the signal that we are doing our best to move past a GOB mentality. We have a ways to go in regard to changing that local mindset.

This name issue comes up over and over.  Lets resolve it and put the issue of changing the name of the school on a ballot and let the "voters" decide.  That is the democratic thing to do I believe.

[BridgeTroll]

It should be the voters of that particular school district.

[Cheshire Cat]

It should be the voters of that particular school district.

Why not city/county wide?  Would be a great chance to see what a cross section of Jacksonville thinks about this type of issue.

[theduvalprogressive]

Ajax there have been a few meetings and Professor Stoll and I will be collecting signatures for a petition on Saturday at the Riverside Arts Market in the morning before the godforsaken heat sets in.

[sheclown]

https://www.change.org/petitions/duval-public-schools-no-more-kkk-high-school?share_id=fkrbTIvXtB&utm_campaign=share_button_chat&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition

[I-10east]

I'm not necessarily against a Forrest High School name change but to be honest, I really don't have a strong opinion about it one way or the other. It does seem that we live in an overly PC 'digging dirt on all history's past' world. Since Andrew Jackson did that dirt in the past, maybe we should rename Jacksonville 'PCville'. It's getting to the point that if someone merely was reported stealing an item from a general store in the 1800's as a kid, a replacement name should be considered by those actions alone....

[Ajax]

Ajax there have been a few meetings and Professor Stoll and I will be collecting signatures for a petition on Saturday at the Riverside Arts Market in the morning before the godforsaken heat sets in.

Thank you - I figured there had been meetings, but I missed them.   

[I-10east]

apache, please note that this doesnt get included in my top 10, but it is an entrant into my top 50.

Okay, hypothetically all of the Confederate named schools are renamed in Jax, then what's next Stephen? It's like that Jay Z song, liberals are always "On to the Next One" to make overly PC. What about the 'Trail of Tears' thing with Andrew Jackson, should the city be renamed for PC reasons? Please answer the questions Stephen. Who am I kidding, liberals never answer any reasonable debating questions, because anyone who challenges their questions are morons apparently....

[sheclown]

Over 36k people have signed the online petition since July started by Omotayo Richmond. This is from people all over.

What do we look like to the world?

[sheclown]

I'm not necessarily against a Forrest High School name change but to be honest, I really don't have a strong opinion about it one way or the other. It does seem that we live in an overly PC 'digging dirt on all history's past' world. Since Andrew Jackson did that dirt in the past, maybe we should rename Jacksonville 'PCville'. It's getting to the point that if someone merely was reported stealing an item from a general store in the 1800's as a kid, a replacement name should be considered by those actions alone....

apache, please note that this doesnt get included in my top 10, but it is an entrant into my top 50.

So Noted.

But that one wasn't that bad, clearly now you're just picking on I-10 because you like him.

I will say, as a new member to MJ, I am looking forward to the annual forum posting awards ceremony where we get to see the top 10 lists and other interesting awards get handed out. I'm sure you guys have such an event.

PARTY...WE NEED A PARTY...AND AWARDS...WE NEED AWARDS

I'll make 100 cupcakes. 

[Garden guy]

Unfortunately those that made the decision back then to name this public school are the foundation of much of our city today and many many ideas die hard..this city is marked with KKK tags out on the northside..probably just kids but thats really the issue...babies are still being taught...

[HangingMoth]

Maybe instead of petitioning to change the name, people should be more concerned that this school seems to be failing. I have no direct experience with the school, however, they received a "D" in 2010 and I don't think they have improved much since. Dr. Vitti should be petitioned to see to it that the failing schools in Jax make a turn around. If the name needs to be changed, change it, I'm pretty sure the historians of the "war of northern aggression" won't let poor Nathan's name be dishonored or misrepresented. The past is the past and history is mostly grey with very few instances of pure black and white, right and wrong. The students deserve a better school whether it remains Forrest High or not.

[HangingMoth]

It's superficial BS. The fruit is rotting on the vine and it doesn't matter whether you pronounce it "tomato" or "tomahto." It's sad to see young people flounder and not be successful. There is definitely larger educational issues in Jax that need to be dealt with.

[cayohueso]

It really should be renamed LCDR Scott Speicher HS. The first American casualty of the Persian Gulf War. A memorial already resides in the front office of Forrest and by god, with today's attention spans, 1991 was long enough ago to also qualify as ancient history.

Of course one day not far from now, the next generation of intertrolling iToobers will decry this name as too militaristic and warmongering so let's just name it Beige Gaia Education Collective. There...done.

[HangingMoth]

It's superficial BS. The fruit is rotting on the vine and it doesn't matter whether you pronounce it "tomato" or "tomahto." It's sad to see young people flounder and not be successful. There is definitely larger educational issues in Jax that need to be dealt with.

sure.  so lets start with world hunger before we think about women voting?

I would put nuclear disarmament before either of these to issues. To stay on topic, there are many dedicated people who do understand that our educational institutions are in need of help. The issue of what school's name is printed on your diploma is irrelevant if you have low testing scores and a high drop out rate. It's not about trying to solve the world problems from the top down rather giving young people the best opportunities to succeed in life. Do you think a school's name is more important than the students it produces?