Goodbye, Columbus; hello, Willamette
Students in southwest McMinnville will attend Willamette Elementary School, rather than Columbus Elementary, the school board decided Monday night.
They chose Willamette as the new name for the school at 1600 S.W. Fellows St.
A committee of students, community members and school staff recommended first that the school be renamed because of the way its namesake, explorer Christopher Columbus, treated indigenous people when he arrived in the Caribbean. Then the committee held numerous listening sessions to come up with a trio of potential names to present to the school board.
Willamette was everyone's number one choice, said Brian Crain, director of facilities. It means "still waters," referring to the river so important to native Oregonians and today's residents, as well.
The committee also suggested West Hills Elementary, because the school is located on the west side of town, and Khatewoda Elementary, or Ms. K Elementary, in honor of Michelle Khatewoda, a longtime Columbus teacher who died suddenly in October 2013.
The five board members present Monday night unanimously agreed with the committee's top choice. The change takes effect immediately, Crain said.
One thing will not change, though, he said: the school mascot will remain the Cougars.
Applause greeted the board's decision. Clapping in the audience was Sailor Houston, a Columbus fourth-grader who spurred consideration of renaming Columbus.
Just after finishing first grade, Sailor wrote an essay about the explorer's misdeeds. Then she spoke to the school board about her feelings, prompting the district to appoint a committee to consider whether the school should be renamed, and, if so, what the new name should be.
At one of the meetings held prior to the renaming, Sailor spoke again.
“I did research. He was not a good guy. He hurt people. He lied,” she said. “If I was a Native American, I wouldn’t feel as welcome at a school with his name.”
Comments
waterboy
Unfortunate proceedings. Instead of learning from and accepting history, we let a fourth grader determine decisions. The slippery slope is getting very steep and very slick.
Bill B
To avoid controversy, I suggest we start naming schools, buildings etc. by number only!
Joel R
Naming it 'Willamette' is an ugly example of cultural appropriation. The left wing woke mob is going to go ballistic when they hear about this.
Mac Runner
Good. There’s no reason to honor a slave trader who committed genocide against hundreds of thousands of people in order to honor the contributions of Italian immigrants to this country. Willamette at least has significance to the Kalapuyah people who inhabited this land before it was claimed and colonized by white settlers.
BigfootLives
Well. If this is what we are going to do I think the outrage society should take a good long look at a few other names, specifically Newby and Wortman. It would be interesting to see if these 'evil wealthy white' families from back east (Tennessee in the case of Newby) who appropriated McMinnville from native Americans in the mid 1800's, were part of families involved in the slave trade. If so, we got some splaining to do. And how can we keep McMinnville named McMinnville since it was named after a city built on the backs of slaves.
How far should we go with this?
Joel R
Mac Runner, Here's some food for thought...how do you think the 'Kalapuyah people' got the land? Think they just lovingly and kindly wandered in and found to their great surprise a land completely empty of other humans and just theirs for the taking?
BigfootLives
This is not the same William Newby that founded McMinnville, but a different William Newby in Tennessee the next county over from the same time frame. The Newby's had an extensive family tree in the area as it turns out. This took all of about 10 minutes to find. I think the city and school district needs to look into this, form an action committee (oxy moron) and start to disassociate from this institutional racism.
"William Newby, in the Smith County census for 1820 and the following in his family: Two males from 10 to 16, one male from 16 to 18, three males from 18 to 26, and one male above 45, doubtless William himself. Females were as follows: Three under ten, one from 10 to 16, one from 16 to 26, and one from 26 to 45, Mrs. Newby, we presume. He was evidently a well-to-do citizen for that day and time, for he owned four Negro slaves in 1820."
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~tnsmith/ccarticles/Feb17-ABCDEFG-1955.htm
I am not trying to disparage the Newby family name or what they have done for the town. My point is this madness has to stop because if it doesn't they will be knocking on your door one day. Not today, maybe not next week, but believe me, it will happen. This woke virus consumes, that's what it does and it eventually eats its host.
Bleepbloop
Hey Boomers ( I am assuming all of you are boomers, but maybe I am wrong), serious question, where do you draw the line on when something should be renamed? As I am sure you are aware, Columbus was an enslaver (including taking native young girls and making them sex slaves for his men), and caused the destruction of entire civilizations.
If it was named Nathan Bedford Forest elementary would you want it renamed? How about Malcom X Elementary? I definitely assume that you wouldn't stand for Karl Marx elementary.
Also, why are you so offended by this? If it makes some people feel better, good. Having an elementary school named after someone is an honor, not a right. Grow up please.
Mac Runner
Joel - How does any aspect of your comment justify honoring a genocidal slave trader? Bigfootlives - Oregon was founded as a white utopia. There were no slaves here. To those who are troubled by this, can you explain what Columbus did to justify putting his name on public achoola or to honor him in any way?
Mac Runner
bigfootlives - America was a white supremacist country for most of our history. The effects of slavery, the effects of eradication and imprisonment of native tribes in Grand Ronde and what our government has done to all of the tribes here is still being felt. Our prosperity in Oregon was built on the destruction of a 10,000 year old civilization.
Don Dix
Someone might want to remind themselves that FDR declared Oct. 12, 1937 as Columbus Day, and since has been a national holiday. Oregon named a storm after the explorer. Where does it end?
Joel R
I'll bet Ruth Moyer, Fred Patton and Mrs Duniway are now hoping a third grader doesn't start combing through their life looking for something to be offended by!
But honestly, I dont fault the third grader. Teaching kids the fine art of cancel culture is endemic in our public schools right now. I fault the teachers and superintendent who should have seen this as a teaching moment. A chance to teach her that life is complex and nuanced and that we don't need to go around perpetually looking for things to be offended by and in need of being cancelled.
These kids need education, not indictrination.
Joel R
Indoctrination! (See what I mean...I need more education on how to spell!)
Joel R
And I meant Sue Buel (not Ruth Moyer). Sheesh, I'm done for tonight.
Mac Runner
Ironic to see people like Joel complain about indoctrination when the only reason he cares about this issue is he was told at 5 or 6 in public school, before he had the cognitive ability to think critically about what he was being told that Columbus was “an explorer who discovered America” instead of the true story, which is that Columbus made most of his wealth from the transatlantic slave trade. He was a mass murderer who was directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. He never set foot in the United States and he was not even the first European “explorer” to arrive in the America’s. The reason we honor Christopher Columbus today is because it was a scheme by state and federal governments to help end white supremacist racism against Italian immigrants by showing that Italians have always been here.
Oregonian
This is a perfect example of what happens in a successful society after a long period of prosperity. There are no more battles to fight, so the country starts to pick itself apart.
US citizens no longer have to worry about survival. We have switched to introspective self criticism as a way to keep ourselves from boredom.
Bill B
Joel R and Oregonian - Well said
Mac Runner
It’s more like what happens eventually In countries like Rhodesia, South Africa and the United States when groups that have been deeply discriminated against start talking about their experiences. People in Mac: America is not a racist country, also people in Mac: I had no idea non whites were not allowed to buy property inside city limits here until the Fair Housing Act barred cities from passing laws like that in 1968.
Jean
Fantastic decision! Hooray for Willamette!
Loretta
This is exhausting, the pursuit of perfection. Columbus was not perfect but the tribes who contribute to the name “Willamette” I am pretty sure have skeletons in their closet. When we dig up enough dirt on them to offend a group of people, what name should we use then? Looks like everything should bear the name God, think God’s School #1 or Jesus Elementary #1 because that is the only name that represents perfection. It is exhausting to be a part of society whose new drive is to be offended.
Bleepbloop
Loretta, thank you! I needed a good laugh. Such a well placed injection of ridiculous humor.
Joel R
Goodbye, McMinnville; hello, Ville.
Breaking news:
People who live in the city currently known as 'McMinnville' will now be living in a city named 'Ville' the mayor and city council decided Monday night.
A kindergartner at Grandhaven Elementary recommended that the city be renamed because of the way its current name victimizes people who are overweight from eating at McDonalds (Mc) and are small (minn). The city held numerous listening sessions to come up with a trio of potential names to present council.
Ville was everyone's number one choice, said Joe Jones, director of facilities. "It's a word that has no meaning and as far as we can tell can't offend anyone", he said.
The board members present Monday night unanimously agreed with the committee's top choice. The change takes effect immediately, Jones said.
One thing will not change, though, he said: the city will always be about wine. Those who are offended by wine need to learn to get over themselves and stop playing the victim.
Applause greeted the board's decision. Clapping in the audience was the beaming kindergartner who spurred consideration of renaming the city.
Just after finishing preschool, the kindergartner wrote an essay about McDonald's misdeeds. Then she spoke to the city about her feelings, prompting the city to appoint a committee to consider whether McMinnville should be renamed, and, if so, what the new name should be.
At one of the meetings held prior to the renaming, the kindergartner spoke again.
“I did research. McDonald's are not good guys. They hurt people with all of those fries. And someone at recess made fun of me for being small. She kept calling me 'minn." Overweight small people are not going to be happy in a city with this name.
Loretta
https://www.prageru.com/video/are-we-living-on-stolen-land
Shorty
It’s a hard knock life
Shorty
It's a hard-knock life for us!
'Stead of treated,
We get tricked!
'Stead of kisses,
We get kicked!
It's a hard-knock life for us!
It's a hard-knock life for us!
'Stead of treated,
We get tricked!
'Stead of kisses,
We get kicked!
It's a hard-knock life!
Don't it feel like the wind is always howlin?
Don't it seem like there's never any light!
Once a day, don't you wanna throw the towel in?
It's easier than putting up a fight.
No one's there when your dreams at night are creepy!
No one cares if you grow or if you shrink!
Empty belly life!
Rotten smelly life!
Full of sorrow life!
No tomorrow life!
Santa Claus we never see
Santa Claus, what's that?
Who's he?
No one cares for you a bit
When you're a foster kid
It's a hard-knock life for us!
It's a hard-knock life for us!
'Stead of treated,
We get tricked!
'Stead of kisses,
We get kicked!
It's the hard-knock life for us
It's the hard-knock life for us
No one cares for you a bit
When your a foster kid.
Rds
Unfortunately our country keeps applying current standards and beliefs to things that were quite ordinary in their own times( 800 yrs ago). The past is the past and we should be working to improve the present and the future and leave the past as it was and quit trying to change and badmouth people and events that were entirely normal for the times. I hate to think what the future will say about the present.
Rds
bleepbloop, it isn't the boomers wanting all this change but the people/generations after the boomers that are doing all this renaming. Boomers really aren't interested in changing names.
MR. S
The longhouse strikes again!
Oregonian
The Stanford "Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative" is where this is headed. Just wait - "American" is one of the terms viewed as offensive and recommended for removal from our vocabulary.
sbagwell
Oregonian: Your post is missing important context:
1) "The Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative was an effort co-sponsored by the Stanford CIO Council and the People of Color in Technology affinity group. This initiative was catalyzed by events at the national and campus level during 2020. It was created by and for the IT community, not the broader community, and intended as a guide, not a mandate. More specifically, EHLI was created to address racist terms historically used in IT, such as “master” and “slave” to describe aspects of systems. The initiative’s scope of “racist terminology in technology” was later expanded more broadly as “harmful language in technology.” This expansion is at the heart of the intense recent feedback..."
2) "There has been much discussion of a website that provides advice for the IT community at Stanford about word choices in Stanford websites and code. This message seeks to provide clarification...
First and importantly, the website does not represent university policy. It also does not represent mandates or requirements. The website was created by, and intended for discussion within, the IT community at Stanford. It provides “suggested alternatives” for various terms, and reasons why those terms could be problematic in certain uses...
We have particularly heard concerns about the guide’s treatment of the term “American.” We understand and appreciate those concerns. To be very clear, not only is the use of the term “American” not banned at Stanford, it is absolutely welcomed. The intent of this particular entry on the EHLI website was to provide perspective on how the term may be imprecise in some specific uses, and to show that in some cases the alternate term “US citizen” may be more precise and appropriate. But, we clearly missed the mark in this presentation."
So, no, nothing is headed that direction, not even the initiative itself. Just more ginned up outrage.
Steve
Joel R
Steve, When that whole thing went down at Stanford I actually got on their web site and read the entire document (before they had a chance to pull it down). It wasn't just about 'slave' and 'master'. It was a long list of all of the typical nutty far left cancel stuff. It's unfortunate that you choose to simply dismiss it as 'ginned up outrage'.
Joel R
If anyone is interested, the document is still available online. Just google "The Stanford "Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative"
I feel that Oregonian's concerns are legitimate. Despite later back tracking, Stanford University truly did originally say that 'American' is a word that should not be used.
sbagwell
Stanford University never said any such thing. A single IT advisory committee, a tiny element in a vast university complex, suggested, not mandated, against use of the term in a particular set of circumstances, and those were limited to technical IT references.
We're talking molehill here, not mountain. This is being used to gin up outrage the same way as critical race theory. There's vastly less here than meets the eye.
Steve
Oregonian
I don't read outrage in this comment section. I read concern and sadness for what our society has become.
Mac Runner
Loretta - "Perfect". At best, Columbus was the grandfather of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. He literally made his fortune selling 10-year old girls into slavery. Why do you feel we should honor human traffickers? Are there any other human traffickers you feel we should honor, or just the one?