PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Andrew Jackson School in South Philly is in the process of changing its name.
Rather than having the nation’s seventh president as its namesake, Principal Kelly Espinosa said her school is taking action to find a new one. The proposed namesake is Fanny Jackson Coppin, an educator who was born a slave in Washington, D.C., and later became a Philadelphia school principal.
Many in the community no longer want the elementary school at 12th and Federal streets to bear the name of a slaveowner, a man who drove Indigenous people away from their land in the infamous Trail of Tears, and a president who had no connection to Philadelphia.
A possible change has been talked about for several years, but the idea gained momentum last summer amid the nation’s racial justice protests.
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Espinosa sent a letter to the community last week announcing a school name change is in the works.
“The response has been very positive,” she said. “When I sent out the letter, I received a lot of ‘thank you, I’m so happy to hear this is happening’ emails.”
Espinosa believes her students can learn from the effort.
“Not only just educate students about the why, but also talk a little bit about the process so that they can understand how this can be replicated and applicable in other settings when it comes to social justice and other matters,” she explained.
Superintendent William Hite said he’s all for renaming the school.
“If they navigate that process and move through that process in a way that is defined by that procedure, then I’m going to be in complete support of the work to change that name,” Hite said. “We should also find ways to ensure that we are also celebrating those schools that are named after people that we want to lift, that are more representative of the communities that they serve.”
The school is holding a virtual town hall on the name change on Feb. 25.