San Francisco has made a stunning about-face, walking back a controversial decision to scrub 44 “racist” names from its schools — including George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — after the move drew nationwide ire and was criticized for being based on flawed information without insight from historians.
“I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process,” the president of San Francisco’s School Board Gabriela López wrote on Twitter Sunday.
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In late January, the school board voted 6-1 to rename schools honoring “racist” historical figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Paul Revere and replace them with people who didn’t aid or abet slavery, genocide or human rights abuses.
The move was widely criticized as a symptom of cancel culture and for being based on misinformation and “casual Google searches” without the input of historians.