Brookline School Was Named For Slave Owner: Time For A Change?

BROOKLINE, MA — Now that Brookline knows that the namesake for one of it's largest schools owned a slave in the 18th century, should they change the name? That's the question up for debate Tuesday night during the third night of Town Meeting voting.

The Devotion School, named for Edward Devotion, who left money to the town for use as a school, happens to be undergoing a $120 million renovation. Along with the new building, some argue the K-8 school should get a new name. Perhaps one that isn't named for a man known to have owned at least one slave.

“Holding a slaveholder up as a beacon of virtue to young people sends the wrong message to our youth, people of color, allies, and the broader Brookline community,” Deborah Brown and Anne Greenwald wrote in their warrant article proposing the name change.

UPDATE: Here's how Town Meeting voted: Brookline Will Change Name Of School Named For Slave Owner

It wasn't widely known until recently that among the assets Devotion listed in his will before his death in 1744 was “1 Negrow.”

The fact that Brookline once had slaves living here at all wasn't completely uncovered until Hidden Brookline, a town initiative to look into its relationship with slavery, started to dig in about a decade ago. The group found that at one point during the 18th century, about a quarter of Brookline households included at least one slave. It happens that Devotion, who gave a significant amount of money to Brookline, was one of them.

Brown and Greenwald do have some suggestions for renaming the school: What about Roland B. Hayes, a well respected African-American musician who lived in Brookline? Or how about another “appropriate name consistent with 21st-century values and the Town’s commitment to diversity and inclusion”? they wrote.

Tuesday, May 29, plenty of town elected Town Meeting members will have something to say about the proposal.

"Everybody you talk to to has a different opinion. And they're all valid," said Rob Daves, a Brookline Town Meeting member who helped push a special monument for Roland B. Hayes in town in 2016 with Hidden Brookline.

"For some people [the thought of a name change] is surprising and new. But as these ideas get turned over and discussed people's opinions grow and change."

Some argue that the school once attended by JFK has held the name for so long that some of its history or pride could be lost or erased.

Others argue it's time to change the name. Race is a hot button issue in town recently between lawsuits accusing Fire and Police and some Town officials of internal racism and walkouts at the high school for racial slurs uttered in videos, many see a name change a way to make strides toward a more positive future.

At this point, said Daves, who is also a Town Meeting member, one of his main concerns is just making sure people have the opportunity to weigh in on it.

"It's such a new concept for some, having it pop up at Town Meeting doesn't allow for fullest discussion," he told Patch.

Originally, he said he was a little resistant to the idea.

"But the more I listen to people the more I understand. It's so particular to this place. This was a person who was a slave owner but it's also a school that's being rebuilt. The Devotion name is still associated with the name in the house. And here's this opportunity to become something new. So it's very complicated."

Previously on Patch:

• Brookline School Committee Takes on Renaming of Local
• Plans for Expanding and Renovating Devotion School
• Brookline Town Meeting May 2018: What Happened Night 1
• Former Firefighter's Racism Case Against Brookline Edges Forward
• Brookline Settles With Police Officer On Racial Discrimination
• Racist Videos 'Disgusting' : Brookline Superintendent
• Brookline High Students Walk Out After Racist Videos Surface

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Photo at top by Jenna Fisher/Patch