SAN FRANCISCO: Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are no longer in favor in San Francisco, where the school board has voted to change the name of 44 schools it says bear the monikers of people associated with racism, slavery or colonization. The move, which has sparked much controversy locally, dates back to the creation of a commission in May 2018 to revise the names of public schools, long before statues of Christopher Columbus or figures from the US’ Confederate south were toppled by anti-racism protesters in the wake of George Floyd’s police killing. The commission created a list of 44 schools to be renamed, such as that bearing the name of Spanish missionary Junipero Serra.
