Survey on Renaming James Blair Middle
Survey results to be used for recommendation to WJCC School Board
Howdy,
This past week, the Williamsburg-James City County school division posted a survey asking community members to share thoughts on renaming James Blair Middle School by March 25. Submissions will be reviewed by the renaming committee formed last month by the WJCC school board and a final recommendation will be presented to the board at the April 1 work session. This all follows Mary Lassiter and I’s request last September to rename the school based on James Blair’s significant role in institutionalizing slavery in colonial Virginia.
Anyone can take the survey, but those living within the WJCC school division are especially encouraged to fill out the short form. You can do so here.
In the preface to the survey, the renaming committee provides important historical context about Blair, like how he personally enslaved people and expanded institutionalized slavery, including at the College of William & Mary. This context was not provided the last time a survey was sent out to rename the school in 2017.
The committee also clarifies the costs of the name change, estimated to be $92,334.50, or .05% of the division’s FY25 operating budget.
Critics of the name change have leaned on the argument that the time and money for the proposed school renaming should instead be spent “on the children,” alleging that this money could be better used to pay teachers or purchase supplies.
Does that mean that no school division money should be spent on infrastructure upkeep? In 2017, extensive renovations were made to James Blair Middle School, costing approximately $40 million. These changes were necessary because the school’s size could no longer accommodate the growing student population. In other words, the school building had become outdated.
Renaming the school is necessary in the same way, because the school’s namesake, James Blair, has long been outdated. We no longer have a segregated school system like when the school was named James Blair in 1954, one of many public building namings after pro-slavery figures in reaction to the civil rights movement. Today, we hold equality as a cornerstone of education, unlike Blair who enslaved generations of black children to labor on a plantation so white students could receive scholarships to go to W&M.
Changing the name of James Blair means more than altering signage and jerseys; it will make it so that all students that attend the school feel like they belong there. Just like the school needed more space to welcome the increasing number of students, the school also deserves name that all students today can be proud of.
Please do take the survey and read the committee’s preface before filling out the form. I believe that if we are not afraid to reckon with James Blair’s shameful history, our community will make the right decision and take a step in moving forward beyond the legacy of slavery.
-Joe
P.S. If you live in York County, the school board there is also reviewing our request to rename Magruder Elementary, named after a Confederate General. This is in violation of the school division’s own policy to not name buildings after individuals. We urge you to support our campaign there as well by emailing their school board or speaking at the next school board meeting tomorrow at 7 PM at York Hall.