A Descriptive Analysis of Public Schools Named After Enslavers, Confederates, and Segregationists

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Race Theory and Other Critical Theoretical Perspectives for Racial Justice (Table 7)

Abstract

In this descriptive study, we examine the toponymic legacies of Confederate and other racist namesakes in the naming of U.S. public schools. We find that 5% of public schools (n=4,480) are named after enslavers, Confederates, Klan members, or other segregationists in some fashion, with the vast majority named after enslavers and approximately 0.5% of all schools (n=420) named after Confederates. Nearly one-third of such schools are named after presidents, namely Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, who have complex legacies as founding fathers and enslavers. More than half of these schools mirror the geographies in which they are situated – usually counties – highlighting how schools reproduce the sociopolitical context. Notably, such schools are disproportionately concentrated in rural areas and in the South.

Authors

• Meredith Paige Richards, Southern Methodist University
  Presenting Author

• Kori James Stroub, Rice University - Kinder Institute
  Presenting Author

• Courtney Thrash, Rice University
  Presenting Author

• Caroline Bartlett, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author

• Annie Gensterblum, Michigan State University
  Presenting Author