Chicago Suburb Won’t Name School After Barack And Michelle Obama Following Protests
A school board in the suburbs of Chicago just snubbed Barack and Michelle Obama and will not rename one of its schools after the couple following protests.
A Waukegan school, the Thomas Jefferson Middle School, will not be named after the first African American president in our history the board decided after immigrant activists protested the choice because the Obama administration departed too many illegal immigrants.
The protesters, far from proving their point, proved how absurd this entire renaming trend is. The board chose to name the school after the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis instead.
Immigration activists objected to the choice of the Obama’s because as one said, Obama “does not represent the undocumented community.”
“I will not be part of renaming a school after someone who did not and does not represent the undocumented community,” said District 60 school board member Edgar Castellanos said.
“From the time Barack Obama became President until 2017 when he left, he today is still the highest-ranking president with deportations in our nation,” said Julie Contreras.
“We feel that Barack Obama did a disservice to us. He denied us, and he didn’t stop the deportations, the way he promised,” Contreras said.
“If you’re removing the name of Thomas Jefferson, one oppressor, the name of Obama is another oppressor, and our families do not want to see that name,” she added.
Mauricio Sanchez objected because her father was deported under Obama.
“It was something very sad,” Sanchez said about her father’s deportation.
“We couldn’t even say goodbye to our dad,” she added.
“We just hoped for him to be able to get out.”
From ABC:
A Waukegan middle school will not be named for former President Obama and his wife Michelle.
The school board voted to rename Thomas Jefferson Middle School after late Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
Members of Waukegan’s Latinx community opposed naming the school for Obama because of his deportation policies.
From Fox 32:
Members of the Latino community say the Obama administration removed and deported millions of people in hostile raids across the country and that the school board should be conscious about what type of message they want to send to immigrant families in the community.
Waukegan school board president Brandon Ewing is open to hearing their opinions.
“I think we should take into consideration all parties as it related to the name changing, right. I don’t want to have to do this in another 10 years from now because there’s a different group who feels differently,” Ewing said.
A Waukegan middle school will not be named for former President Obama and his wife Michelle following protests from the Latinx community. https://t.co/BMY9YERlpk
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) April 14, 2021