Lincoln's Name Yanked From California School: He Didn't Prove 'Black Lives Ever Mattered' to Him

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Abraham Lincoln’s been canceled.

By the San Francisco Unified School District.

As reported by the New York Post, Abraham Lincoln High School will get a moniker makeover.

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And why? A committee’s concluded that many prominent people the district previously promoted — in the words of the Post — “led lives so rife with racism, oppression or abuse that their names should not grace its buildings.”

Hence, among SFUSD’s campuses, a whole lot of names are getting nixed.

So who’s in charge of the change?

The Daily Mail points to grade school teacher Jeremiah Jeffries:

The man behind the renaming…is a first grade teacher who was influenced by his parents — both prominent members of the Nation of Islam — who set up their own Islamic school.

Jeremiah Jeffries, chairman of the renaming committee, revealed in an interview his mother told him ‘There’s nothing mysterious about progression. It’s working instead of wishing.’

She and her husband set up the Sister Clara Muhammad School that serves a predominately African-American Muslim population.

The Nation of Islam, [is] defined as an organized hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay teachings and rhetoric of black superiority over whites.

Along with another member of San Fran’s renaming committee, Jeremiah formerly founded Teachers 4 Social Justice, which — per its website — “believes in evolving a society based on equity and love, where each person has access to resources regardless of race, gender, ability, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or faith, for intellectual, spiritual, artistic, and emotional growth.”

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From the site’s “Our Platform” section:

TAG believes that local communities and those affected by school reform should be looked to for the wisdom and knowledge to transform their local schools. This process must secure the voice, participation and self-determination of communities and individuals who have been historically marginalized.

As for Lincoln, Jeremiah and crew looked at the evidence and had to hit the gong.

via GIPHY

It turned out the president who abolished slavery didn’t sufficiently demonstrate that “black lives ever mattered” to him.

As relayed by the Post, Jeremiah wasn’t generous:

“The discussion for Lincoln centered around his treatment of First Nation peoples, because that was offered first. Once he met criteria in that way, we did not belabor the point.”

Bottom line:

“Lincoln, like the presidents before him and most after, did not show through policy or rhetoric that black lives ever mattered to them outside of human capital and as casualties of wealth-building.”

So, on to success, and only good:

“Uprooting the problematic names and symbols that currently clutter buildings, streets, throughout the city is a worthy endeavor. Only good can come from the public being reflective and intentional about the power of our words, names and rhetoric within our public institutions.”

Honest Abe shouldn’t feel that bad — the district’s even 86’ing the Dianne Feinstein Elementary School.

Yes — even Dianne Feinstein.

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Lincoln’s school, Dianne’s, and 42 others will get the eponym overhaul.

Of course, not everyone’s enthused.

Ted Cruz offered the ol’ Thumbs Down:

If you’re wondering why Dianne got ditched, it seems she was flagged for something approaching white supremacy.

For others, there may have been some insufficient research along the way.

More from the Post:

Critics have slammed the district’s effort to rename the 44 sites as amateurish, arguing the committee’s rationales derived from Wikipedia or selective news sources — rather than relying on historical records and exhaustive research.

When the committee released the list of buildings to be renamed, many made sense because Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe were slave owners, and Vasco Núñez Balboa was a vicious conquistador.

But others raised eyebrows, including George Washington, Herbert Hoover and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose name was recommended to be removed from an elementary school because she replaced a vandalized Confederate flag in front of City Hall as mayor in 1984.

So there ya go — Jeremiah’s committee is cleaning house.

But at least one other guy ain’t impressed by the custodial cleanse:

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It begs the question: In the end, who/what will be left? I’m not aware of another generation which, to this degree, overturned the past.

From here on out, perhaps every era will just delete the last.

It’s history, Tetris style.

Stay tuned…’til you’re erased.

Meanwhile, with Lincoln established as a racist, at least Jon Voight finally makes sense to Democrats:

-ALEX

 

See more pieces from me:

Emancipation Revocation: Boston Arts Commission Votes to Remove Memorial Funded by Freed Slaves

Cartoon Network Schools Kids on Pronouns: They Define You and Make You Feel Safe

Marvel Us: Star-Lord Comes Out as Bisexual

Find all my RedState work here.

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