The School Board will be taking up the question of renaming T.C. Williams High School this fall, but whether the school should be renamed is still undecided.
The school was built on land taken by eminent domain from a nearby black community and then was named in honor of Superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams. Williams was an ardent segregationist who fought not only to keep the black and white students divided, but fired a school employee who tried to get her children sent to an integrated school.
A Facebook group played a prominent role in spreading a petition to rename the school, though efforts have since grown beyond just renaming T.C. Advocates also say Matthew Maury Elementary School, named after Confederate leader and oceanographer Matthew Maury, should be renamed as well.
In neighboring Arlington County, Washington-Lee High School was renamed Washington-Liberty early last year.
Defenders of the T.C. Williams name, which have popped up in the Facebook group, say the school’s name is part of a legacy beyond Williams — frequently citing the mostly inaccurate film Remember the Titans.
Staff photo by Vernon Miles
Recent Stories
Without school resource officers and the next school year starting in less than a month, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has a plan to beef up security….
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) swung by Arlington’s County Board last week to recognize 60 local first responders who responded to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. It’s the latest step in…
From comic books to donuts, Alexandrians have been going all out for the Olympics this year — particularly with T.C. Williams High School graduate Noah Lyles competing in the 200…
After years of legal wrangling and pandemic pressures, the controversial halal slaughterhouse at 3225 Colvin Street quietly opened on Wednesday, July 28. There is no discernible smell of chickens in…
