Photograph by Andrew Beaujon.
Alexandria’s school board voted Thursday to change the name of T.C. Williams High School to Alexandria City High School. The new name will take effect on July 1 of this year. The school’s teams’ nickname will remain the Titans, as was made famous in the remarkably inaccurate Disney film
Remember the Titans.
⚪ It s official! The School Board has voted and the new school name for @tcwtitans is Alexandria City High School! The new school name will be implemented starting July 1, 2021. #ForeverTheTitans#RememberTheTitanspic.twitter.com/R4rARtXy9K
T.C. Williams was named for Thomas Chambliss Williams, a former superintendent of Alexandria’s school system who was an avowed segregationist. A long-simmering movement to shed his name picked up speed last year during the racial reckoning that followed George Floyd’s killing by a police officer in Minneapolis. The school board vote followed a renaming process that solicited names from students (w
Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington, is dumping its 56-year-old name over ties to racism.
When the school opened in 1965, it was named after former school superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams, a strict segregationist during the 1930s. The school has long criticized its namesake, and on its website, the school system says that Williams and his history “could not have been more inconsistent with the vibrant, diverse and inclusive place we know today.”
The site adds that Williams “did everything possible to slow down the process of integration in Alexandria.” And the district has debated changing the name for some time.
Dr. Gregory Hutchings Ed.D. (Photo Credit: Susan Hale Thomas/ACPS)
The collective community efforts between families, community organizations, the City of Alexandria and Alexandria City Public Schools gives our community promise for ensuring our young people are entering the world destined for success. Raising and educating our children to become happy, healthy and informed citizens takes a concerted effort from all of us. I am proud to call Alexandria my home, as we strive to foster natural curiosity and maximize opportunities for each child to reach their full potential.
Educational development does not start at age five when a student enters Kindergarten. Neuroscience research studies over the years have found that the vast majority of a child’s brain is developed in the first five years of life.