The Alexandria Public Schools Board is starting the process to consider renaming T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School with a series of read-ins to frame the conversation.
The first read-in is this Thursday, Sept. 24.
Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr. described The Identity Project as a “robust public community engagement process which will begin with our community education and engagement program around the possibility of changing the name of T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School.”
There is no guarantee that either name will change, but right now public opinion seems in favor of renaming both skills.
T.C. Williams was named for Thomas Chambliss Williams, a longtime Alexandria school superintendent who opposed desegregation.
“I’ve long been embarrassed that my city’s high school honors the name of the man who fought long and hard to keep my black neighbors from attending school with my white neighbors,” said Alexandria resident Marc Solomon, who started a petition to change the name of the high school. (Read our interview with him here.)
According to the ACPS Renaming of Schools webpage on T.C. Williams, “Today, T.C. Williams High School is proud to educate students from 120 different countries, with 121 different languages spoken. Alexandria City Public Schools views our diversity as a strength. Ensuring racial equity is the heart of the school division’s Strategic Plan: Equity for All 2025. While we still have work to do inside our schools, the school’s name does not align with who we are as a community.”
Matthew Maury Elementary School was named after a Virginia resident who was considered the founder of oceanography — who was also a Confederate Navy member. Maury tried to establish a Confederate colony in Mexico after the South lost the war.
See who other Alexandria City Public Schools were named for here.
“We are critically aware that there is a pressing need in our schools, our community and our nation to find ways to talk about race constructively and respectfully,” Hutchings said in an announcement about the read-in events. “One of the ways that we can move forward is by acknowledging our own history, while refusing to allow that history to define who we currently are as a school division in the present.”
All three read-ins will be offered in English with real-time translation in Spanish, Arabic and Amharic.
Read-In #1: Thomas Chambliss Williams, the SuperintendentSept. 24, 6 - 7 p.m.Dr. Douglas S. Reed will present from his book, Building the Federal School House and discuss ACPS Superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams. Join on Zoom.
Read-In #2: Alexandria’s Role in Massive Resistance and School SegregationOct. 1, 7 - 8 p.m. Dr. Douglas S. Reed will discuss Virginia’s “Massive Resistance” to school integration and the role Alexandria played in this effort. Join on Zoom.
Read-In #3: The Real Story Behind “Remember the Titans”Oct. 8, 6 - 7 p.m. on ZoomDr. Douglas S. Reed will put the Remember the Titans story into context. Join on Zoom.
For more details on the topics being covered in each read-in, and to find other ways to access the events, please visit the ACPS Renaming of Schools page.
