Since opening in 1959, Nathan B. Forrest High School maintained a legacy of racism. In response to desegregation, community leaders in Jacksonville, Fla. decided to name the school after Forrest who was the KKK grand wizard.
Over the years, members of the black community were appalled by the name and fought hard to get the school’s name changed. Although the school began as all-white, over 60 percent of the students are now black. In 2007, a vote to change the school’s name was struck down by a vote of 5-2.
But the fight to have the school renamed continued and over 160,000 signatures were collected. The Duval County School Board conducted surveys with students, faculty, alumni and PTA to get their thoughts on a possible change of the school’s name.
According to the Florida Times-Union, nearly 64 percent of students voted to change the name and 36 percent wanted to keep the name. On the other hand, 94 percent of the alumni voters wanted to keep the name.
But on Dec. 16, the Duval County School Board members voted 7-0 to change the name. The renaming of the school will cost $400,000 to change the school’s signs, uniforms and gym floor.
The official renaming will take place on July 1, 2014.
