School Seeks Name Ideas To Distance Itself From Racist Honoree

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Officials started fielding name suggestions for Pasadena's George Fox Middle School on Monday. With a unanimous vote on March 17, board members disavowed the school's namesake, who openly opposed equal pay for Black teachers in a court case. Fox was the superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools from 1916 to 1946.

Locals can email propositions to schoolname@aacps.org or mail them to 7922 Outing Avenue, Pasadena, MD 21122. Submissions must be received by April 7 at noon.

Schools cannot be named after a living person or somebody who has been dead for less than three years. Anybody who proposes naming the school after a person should include that individual's significance and date of death in their petition. Screeners will strike motions that "fail to meet that criteria, are in poor taste, or are otherwise unsuitable" for the 72-year-old building.

The school board will publish the results and announce a voting process in mid-April. Families and staff in the Northeast High School feeder system will be included, but the Board of Education must approve the final decision.

School officials opened an inquiry into the school's name last July when protests against racial injustice swept the nation. A committee evaluated the pros and cons of renaming the building. The group ultimately recommended a switch, prompting the board vote.

“To have students sit in a building named for a man who championed Jim Crow and segregationist policies and structures does not align with the AACPS core value of All Means All,” committee member Jamie Hurman-Cougnet told the board during the presentation.

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RELATED:

• School Disavows Racist Comments Of Honoree, Chooses New Name

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