Since the great historical figures didn’t conform to the modern left’s sensibilities, the movement to erase history continues. This is the latest example from a New Jersey elementary school that is changing its name to reflect its slave-holding founder father.
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, South Orange, N.J., will be renamed in honor of Delia Bolden. She is the first female black high school graduate. Bolden was chosen by students from a list of names that included notable people and generic names that were not linked to any person.
Although the school district claimed that students initiated the renaming of their school, it is hard to imagine children shouting, “You know that Thomas Jefferson sure was problematic!”
Fox News reports that one member of a school board appears to have initiated the conversation during the summer.
Qawi Telesford, a board member, stated that Thomas Jefferson had owned more than 600 slaves during a June meeting. He freed two slaves while he was still alive, and seven slaves after his death. This basically means that I have a 1.5% chance to be free in Thomas Jefferson’s world. He is not the reason I am thankful for him. Thank you to all who allowed me to be free today and join the board.
Superintendent Ronald Taylor said that the students’ work “exceeded our expectations.”
The upside of the decision is that students named the school after someone who was a part of the school system.
While our founding fathers and other historical figures were not perfect, their failures should not be overlooked for the great achievements they made. Let’s hope that the tide of historical revisionism, and the erasure or denigration of important American figures, comes to an end soon.
