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Residents debate keeping or renaming James Blair Middle School at WJCC public comment
Summary
Several residents urged the Williamsburg-James City County School Board to change the name of James Blair Middle School because of its historical ties to slavery; other residents thanked the board for listening to the community and for not moving forward at this time.
Public comment at the Williamsburg-James City County School Board meeting on May 20 included several speakers who urged the board to change the name of James Blair Middle School, while others thanked the board for pausing a renaming effort.
Joe Katarin, who identified himself as a Williamsburg resident, said community survey responses about the school renaming included racial slurs and asked the board whether it was acceptable for students or community members to submit hate speech through the division’s survey process. He asked, “Are y'all okay with hate speech being used by students in the school division and by members of the school community?”
Other community members framed the name as part of a history of segregation. Cynthia Druitt said James Blair’s name is tied to a 1954 era when the school population was all white and described the continuing harm she believes the name causes; she cited Brown v. Board of Education as the court decision that ended de jure segregation and urged change. Karen Birxoggle recounted memories of living under segregation and said changing the school name is one way to acknowledge and correct past wrongs.
Conversely, Susan Franz told the board she was “thankful for not moving forward with the name change,” saying she believed the board listened to the majority of respondents to the renaming survey. Franz’s public remarks were made in the same segment of the meeting in which she raised questions about the budget and the child nutrition fund.
Board members heard the comments during the public‑comment period and did not take formal action on the renaming during the May 20 meeting. The board had discussed the renaming at an earlier work session; members and the administration have noted that community input and survey responses factored into the board’s earlier decision not to proceed at that time.
Speakers asking for a name change framed the issue as part of a broader effort to address the legacy of segregation and to ensure students do not attend a school named for someone associated with slavery or segregation; speakers urging caution said the majority of survey respondents favored keeping the existing name. The board did not vote on a name change at the May 20 regular meeting.
