PR 23-0892 — Sense of the Council Woodrow Wilson High School Renaming Protocol Resolution of 2020

ps0—ENROLLED VORIGINAL L A airmanPhilMendelsonRESOLUTION ‘CouncilmemberMary.M23-553 ChehIN CouncilmemberAnitaBondsTHE CouncilmemberDavidGrossoCOUNCIL gOF eTHE Councilmember&obertr.White,JDISTRICT CouncilmemberOF BrianneCOLUMBIA K.October 20, 2020 To declare the sense of the Council that the Council supports efforts to reconsider the name of Woodrow Wilson High School and, more broadly, the names of all public schools, and that the District of Columbia Public Schools should act quickly to update its school naming protocol, and to call on the District of Columbia Public Schools to convene community meetings to consider whether the name of Woodrow Wilson High School should be changed, and, if so, what name should be selected.

NadeauRESOLVED, :‘ouncilmemberBY BrookeTHE PintoCOUNCIL CouncilmemberOF BrandonTHE T.ToddDISTRICT COF dCOLUMBIA, sThat Qthis Lresolution .may be cited as the “Sense of the Council Woodrow Wilson High School Renaming Protocol Resolution of 2020”.

Councilmember Charles Allen A PROPOSED RESOLUTION INTHE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICTOF COLUMBIA ToelWoodrowlsnHihScooln,moebraly,heamsfalluliccol,tof esrehttheniiuasfrwhomhesholuidnsaenamedersnthe msin,vso,andausofDCPSndtersdnsofteDsrt,ncuing ealedcsfdsriiato;thtDCPSholdctuikytopdtetsr10!naming pooo;tatDCPSholdroieteConiladmembersfheulcwih ifrmtononrbfoeJly7,22,rgadngwhenenewpooolwl e fnlzd;ndoclonDCPStooneneommniymetigsocnsdrwhterte be selected.ow Wilson High School should be changed, and, ifso,what name should RESOLVED, B Y T H E COUNCIL OF T H E DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this sl reouionmayeiedstheSnsotheCunilWoodrowlsnHihScoolenming Protocol Resolution of2020”.

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2.

The Council finds that:

(1) On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African American, was murdered by Minneapolis police during an arrest.

Within days, protests arose across the globe to demand an end to police violence against Black men and women, and to demand local and federal reforms to address racial injustices and inequities built into the functioning of our justice systems.

These calls for reform, however, are not limited to our police departments, courts, and penal system.

Jurisdictions have been called on to engage in a top-to-bottom, ongoing review of their laws, regulations, operations, and programs to identify and address where these policies and practices have a disparate impact on persons of color.

(2) In addition to elevating the need to broadly assess existing policies and practices for any racially disparate impact, the recent protests have drawn attention to the buildings, monuments, and statues across the country that honor historical figures who benefited from or supported white supremacy and discrimination against persons of color.

A number of jurisdictions have taken action to rename buildings and remove statues and monuments in recognition of the very real harm caused to persons and communities of color by honoring individuals who supported and enabled racial prejudice.

Honoring such individuals also sends a harmful and wrong message to the broader community that racial discrimination is acceptable and even laudatory.

ENROLLED ORIGINAL (3) In December 2017, the District of Columbia Public Schools (“DCPS”) promulgated a protocol for school naming that includes procedures for residents to petition DCPS to rename a particular school.

According to the protocol, one key factor in DCPS’s decision to name a school after a particular person is whether the individual “[r]epresents the DCPS mission, vision, and values.” However, the protocol does not contemplate a proposal including information on why the legacy of an individual for whom a school building is currently named represents—or does not represent—the mission, vision, and values of DCPS.

(4) Woodrow Wilson High School is a DCPS secondary school located in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Ward 3.

The high school’s catchment area is the largest of all DCPS schools and includes portions of Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Even with such a large catchment area, the school’s student body includes students from all 8 wards;

for school year 2018-2019, 38% of Woodrow Wilson High School students were considered out-of-boundary.

The school also boasts one of the most diverse student bodies in the District.

For school year 2018-2019, the school’s student body was 31% Black, 21% Hispanic or Latino, 37% White, 6% Asian, 1% Native American or Alaskan Native, and 4% mixed-race.

(5) Woodrow Wilson High School is named after President Woodrow Wilson.

President Wilson is most often remembered for his leadership during World War I and his role in the creation of the League of Nations.

As president, however, Wilson instituted efforts to segregate government offices and engage in racially discriminatory hiring practices.

Wilson and his administration oversaw the segregation, demotion, and firing of Black employees throughout the federal government for the sole reason that they were Black.

This, in turn, facilitated destruction of the growing black middle class in the District of Columbia.

(6) For a number of years, advocates have petitioned DCPS to change the name of Woodrow Wilson High School and to honor another individual whose legacy reflects and celebrates the school’s diversity and history.

In addition, students, faculty, and staff have engaged in school-wide discussions about the changing of the school’s name, including holding a community forum in 2019.

Although advocates and members of the community have suggested a number of new names for the school, neither the advocates nor DCPS have come to consensus on a new name, nor initiated a formalized process to select or approve one.

(7) Under DCPS’s school naming protocol, a proposal to rename a school must include not only the request to change the existing name, but also a specific recommendation for the new name.

After receiving a complete proposal, DCPS will decide whether to move forward with the name change.