Harriet Tubman Possible Name For New Bethesda Middle School

KENSINGTON, MD — A second Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School — built to relieve crowding at Westland Middle School — is currently under construction on Saul Road in Kensington. Montgomery County Public Schools chose four potential names for the school: Kensington, Silver Creek, Harriet Tubman and Dr. Paul L. Vance, who was a former Montgomery County school superintendent who died at the age of 83 in 2015, Montgomery Community Media reports.

There's now a petition on Change.org encouraging the Montgomery County Board of Education to name the second Bethesda Chevy Chase Middle School after Maryland-born Harriet Tubman.

"This recommendation appropriately recognizes Ms. Tubman’s historic role in freeing enslaved Marylanders, as well the need for more diversity in Montgomery County school names," the creator of the petition, Joe Zogby, wrote on the petition's website. "Moreover, of all of the proposed names on the list, Harriet Tubman best reflects the Board’s policy on naming school facilities."

The petition description went on to address how Zogby believes there's a lack of diversity in existing Montgomery County Public School names. He's says it's important for Montgomery County students to see the "wonderful diversity" of the county, state and nation.

Zogby continued to say that although Montgomery County is 19 percent African American, only one of the 46 schools named for individuals is named for an African-American woman.

"Unlike Harriet Tubman, many of these 46 individuals have no connection to Maryland," Zogby said.

The petition also addresses that if the school is named after Harriet Tubman, it will help educate children about the "shameful legacy" of slavery. Montgomery County currently has no public schools named after those who led the fight to end slavery, despite "the fact that our state was the home of two of the best-known abolitionists and emancipated slaves, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass," the petition says.

As of Monday afternoon, 358 people have signed the petition.

Some residents have left comments on the petition page, stating "This seems like a no-brainer and a chance to make up for neglect done to Maryland's black and slave women, and "She's an American Hero and a true inspiration."

>> What do you think should be the name of the new middle school? Let us know in the comment section.

Patch reached out to Zogby and will update this if we hear back.

Photo: Montgomery Community Media