Alexandria school board votes to change names of TC Williams, Matthew Maury schools

2 Alexandria school names changed

Two Alexandria schools will get new names in 2021 after their current names - which are linked to racist history - were removed.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Two more local institutions in Virginia are having their names changed in the wake of a summer that forced America to reflect on a history of racial injustice.

The Alexandria school board voted Monday night to remove the names T.C. Williams and Matthew Maury from their schools.
New names will be presented on April 2021, and will go into effect on July 1, 2021.

Despite commonly being associated with the provocative sports film “Remember the Titans,” which highlighted the triumph of a desegregated football team, T.C. Williams High School is named in honor of a superintendent who persistently fought integrating the classroom.

Meanwhile, Matthew Maury Elementary School is named in honor of an oceanographer who served in Confederate army and tried to negotiate a slave trade with Brazil.

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"This is a historic moment. Thanks to the methodical and strategic process we undertook with The Identity Project, our community is more aware than ever before of why combatting inequities is so fundamental to ensuring change. Today’s vote is a symbolic step in the right direction, but we still have much work to do to see Equity for All as outlined in our ACPS 2025 Strategic Plan,” School Board Chair Cindy Anderson said.

The district surveyed roughly 3,000 people regarding the name change. In both cases, more than 70 percent of the respondents were in favor of such a change.