Town of Brookline votes to change school named after slave owner

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Brookline residents voted on Tuesday night to rename a local elementary school.

For more than 120 years, the Edward Devotion School in Brookline had been named after a man who bequeathed the land to the town for the school in the 1800s.

The push to rename the school is due to the fact that the man also happened to be a slave owner.

"The name change can be something they can be excited about and look forward to and participate in," said Anne Greenwald.

The vote passed with support from 171 elected town members, compared to opposition from just 19.

"I'm very surprised, I did not think it would be so one-sided," said Deborah Brown. "Part of the benefit of going through this is one child never feels like they're less than another."

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Some in the town are said naming the school after him no longer sends an appropriate message.

Others, however, believe renaming the school is an empty gesture.

"That's my fear here, that we're not going to pay attention to the lingering racism that exists everywhere," said Joyce Jozwicki.

The vote to rename the school comes as it undergoes a $120 million renovation.

A new name likely won't come until next year as the school wants the kids and the community to come up with ideas in the fall.

"[It] gives the students a chance to talk about our feelings about the name change," said on third grader. "We may feel excited, happy, sad, stressed about the change."

It is still unclear when exactly a new name will be chosen.

"It is experienced as a loss to have something like that change but it's also something we can grieve, a loss we can grieve," said Greenwald.

The renaming isn't the only change happening in the school - they will reopen in the fall after a massive, two year, $120 million renovation.

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