Brookline Will Change Name Of School Named For Slave Owner

BROOKLINE, MA — Tuesday night Brookline Town Meeting voted to change the name of the Edward Devotion School, one of the largest k-8 schools in town to the Coolidge Corner School.

Some time in the next few months, there will be an opportunity to involve the community in a new name change say town officials.

The vote passed overwhelmingly after a little more than an hour of discussion.

"Names and words shape our thoughts names matter especially in shaping our children's minds," said former School Committee Chairwoman Susan Wolf Ditkoff.

Co-petitioners brought the proposal before Town Meeting to change the school's name after finding out that the namesake owned at least one slave. With the school undergoing significant renovation it seemed inappropriate in these times not to change it, they said noting that it would laud the town's racist past. Opponents said it wouldn't make a significant change to race issues in town today and could do harm by attempting to erase history that the town could yet learn from.

The discussion included views from both sides of the debate, views from former Devotion School graduates as well as one current Devo school third grader.

The town moderator said Ada was the youngest resident to address Town Meeting.

"I don't want random grownups coming into our class announcing 'hello students your school is now going to be called the Sweedish Chef School, goodbye'," she said, asking Town Meeting to consider involving current students. She said she and her classmates liked the name Devotion because it was what they knew, but they were open to hearing more about why there should be a name change.

This third grader got a standing ovation.

One former resident got choked up as she spoke about losing the name and what it meant. She had to take a moment and compose herself before continuing.

"When will it end?," she asked.

One Town Meeting member tweeted out a response.

"When White Privilege ends," he said.

The Devotion School will be renamed after Town Meeting voted 171 yes, 19 opposed and 14 abstain. That means only 204 of the 240 Town Meeting Members cast a vote.

How did this man get a school named for him?

Edward Devotion's will stated that any money left over from the sale of his property after payment of his debts and funeral expenses and a few other bequests should go to the town to be used toward the establishment of a school, according to Ken Liss of the Brookline Historical Society.

"The trail of that money is a complicated one, but the land was not given to the town. In fact, it was purchased by the town from a much later owner -- unrelated to the Devotion family -- in 1891, nearly 150 years after Edward Devotion's death," he said.

Slavery was effectively outlawed in Massachusetts in 1783. The thirteenth amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery in 1865.

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

And here is what else Town Meeting voted on Tuesday night: The Votes Tuesday Night In Brookline

Here's what the co-petitioner had to say about the name change:

Watch the speakers here:

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Photo at the top by Jenna Fisher/Patch