Students Petition to Rename James Madison Memorial High School

Maureen Collins | June 13, 2017
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Mya Berry, a Wisconsin student, is petitioning to rename her high school because it is named after historical figure who owned slaves. 

Who is it? Robert E. Lee? 

Nope. Ms. Berry attends James Madison Memorial High School in Verona, Wisconsin. And for her, the president, founding father, and author of the Constitution is apparently too politically incorrect to have a school bearing his name. 

Berry's petition on Change.org reads, "James Madison, the 4th president of the United States was an owner of over 100 black slaves. The significance of this name in association with my school has a negative effect on memorials [sic] black students." 

After claiming that she and other black students face racial discrimination at their school, Berry asks, "With all the injustice I and others face in James Madison Memorial High School, do you truly think it's appropriate to glorify a man that enslaved my ancestors?" 

The petition has only been on the website for three weeks, but has already received 1,544 signatures. 

Will removing the name of an important historical figure really improve race relations? Some say it might actually make matters worse. Jay Cost of The Weekly Standard writes:

"This is a small action, but it is motivated by a principle that is becoming more and more popular: Public memorials to historical figures need to be evaluated not just on the figure's contributions to civil society, but their other beliefs and actions, especially regarding the matter of slavery. If this view were adopted, it would have sweeping consequences." 

It was largely James Madison's ideas that gave us our unique system of government. While we can and should acknowledge the evil of slavery, erasing his name from schools -- and our history -- because his ownership of slaves robs us of our historical roots. 

But these "sweeping consequences" could get much worse. White-washing slavery out of our history may prevent future citizens from learning about the evil of this practice. 

As philosopher George Santayana wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 

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