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By: Tyler Austin
By: Tyler Austin
Why the New Name?
Earlier this year, a group of students at Grady High School (Grady HS) led by Royce Mann, started a petition to change the name of Grady HS. The petition was ultimately signed by approximately 180 students and read, “our school was named after Henry W. Grady, a Reconstruction-era journalist, and speaker who was the owner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While Grady’s contributions to journalism were significant, his staunchly racist ideology helped cement white supremacy in the southern United States. His legacy should be studied, not celebrated.” The petition was presented to the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education (APS School Board) which resulted in them forming a naming committee to change the name per the policy "Naming and Renaming of APS Facilities”.
Community Response
A lot of unexpected controversies occurred around the renaming of Grady HS in late October despite what appeared to be a very public process that solicited community input along the way. The naming committee individually and together as a group gathered opinions from members of the community in the form of a survey and with a poll which resulted in thousands of opinions on the top five selected names. According to Leslie Grant, District 1 representative, APS Board Chair, and Chair of the Naming Committee, the input was meant to inform the committee, but not intended to be put up to a vote. However, after Ida B. Wells was selected by the committee, members of the community expressed concern related to the relevancy of the name and the selection process. Lindsey Curtis, a senior at Grady HS said, she agrees the name should change but thought other people might be better because of closer ties to the city and she also has concerns about the selection process. Jay Hammond, Grady HS Class of 2020 graduate, and the only student representative on the naming committee voiced his opinion during the November 2 board meeting to emphasize his support of Ida B. Wells as the new name. Hammond said he thinks Ida B. Wells took an explicit stance against racism and inequality and her life represents the values of the school.
What’s Next
At the November 2nd board meeting, the APS board did not reject or accept the name of Ida B. Wells, instead, they decided to let Grady HS students vote on the new name. According to Pierre L. Gaither, Executive Director of the APS School Board, as of Tuesday, November 10th, the process for the student vote has yet to be determined. He further stated that the process should be determined and finalized by the end of the week.
The naming committee was made up of seven members - Leslie Grant, District One Representative, Atlanta Board of Education (Chair); Amir Farokhi, District Two Representative, Atlanta City Council, Carrie MacBrien, Assistant Principal, Grady High School; Celeste Beal, Grady High School Alumnus; Courtney Smith, NPU-E Representative; Janet Kinard, Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools (CINS) Representative; Jay Hammond, 2020 Graduate, Grady High School. The Atlanta Public School put into place a policy for school name changes a few years ago.
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