(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Students at an elementary school in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood are celebrating a name-change today, to a famous, or perhaps "notorious" Ukrainian American.
Students at the newly named Ruth Bader Ginsburg Elementary School packed the gym for a ceremony, some wearing RBG t-shirts.
“They did this because they wanted to have a legacy for the school,” Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said.
The school used to be Christopher Columbus Elementary. The effort to change the name was led by students, including Lucy Dennis who is now in the ninth grade.
“Why is that the man that we chose to represent the community, of my school, of our school?
“While getting the opportunity to change the name, I thought, who does represent the community that we are and the community that we strive to become – Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The woman who inspired countless girls and led the fight against gender discrimination.”
Alderman Daniel Laspata, an Italian American, told the students they made a “bold choice.”
“We are going through something called a reckoning. Can you say that big word with me? Reckoning,” he asked while coaching the students.
This neighborhood has seen an influx of Ukrainians since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of them children now in CPS schools, including RBG Elementary.
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