London’s Roosevelt Public School gets new name | CBC News

F.D. Roosevelt Public School will now be called Forest City Public School. 

Members of the school community put forward the new name, and Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) trustees supported the change last night. 

Roosevelt is located on Second Street in east London and is named after the American president who served as the top politician in the United States from 1933 to 1045. 

The school was renamed because “F.D. Roosevelt’s historical connection to racism and controversial approach to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, which are inconsistent with the school board’s values and commitments to human rights and equity,” the school board said in a statement. “As an American historical political figure, Roosevelt’s legacy also has limited relevance to the TVDSB community.

F.D. Roosevelt, the 32nd American president, oversaw the internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War and the prevention of Jewish refugees from coming into the United States during the war. 

The name change is part of a board-wide review of names to make sure schools named after people reflect a “commitment to human rights, equity and inclusive learning environments,” the statement said. 

Forest City Public School was the first choice of those in the school region among three short-listed names, getting 51 per cent of the votes. 

Plans are underway to update school signage, logo and mascot. Sir John A. Macdonald Public School is also in the process of being renamed. 

Canada’s first prime minister, Macdonald oversaw the forcible relocation of Indigenous people and the development of the residential school system.