Middle School May Lose Confederate-Era Name
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Cynthia Kopkowski, Palm Beach Post, June 22
The onetime president of the Confederacy’s name may soon be consigned to the history books at a Palm Beach County middle school.
Jefferson Davis Middle in Palm Springs is poised to join other schools nationwide shedding the name of the Civil War leader in favor of a less divisive moniker.
At next week’s school board meeting, a committee of students, staff, parents and historical society members plans to ask to rename the school Palm Springs Middle.
The school, built in the 1960s, is reopening in a new facility in 2007 on land annexed this year by Palm Springs. It will hold about 1,800 students.
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“I don’t think we should name a school after Adolf Hitler,” said school board member Debra Robinson, who is black. “It’s really at that level with Jeff Davis. I don’t think we should name schools for anybody that represents intolerance or straight-up hatred.”
A majority of the students at Jefferson Davis Middle are Hispanic or black, according to district statistics. White students account for 26 percent.
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(Posted on June 24, 2005)