Guest column: Don't betray Jean Ribault Your turn Guest columnists Our ancestor Jean Ribault (1520-1565) is currently being betrayed by Florida – and by Jacksonville in particular. In recent months, the Duval County School Board initiated a name change process that includes two schools named after him. If this process reaches completion, Jean Ribault High School and Jean Ribault Middle School would change names. Other schools included in the process are named after Confederate generals or slavery proponents. Clearly, this amalgam is detrimental to Jean Ribault, of whom we are proud in France, and we wish to defend his memory. Obviously, there is a misunderstanding about who Jean Ribault was and what he did in Florida in the 16th century. French sailor of great renown, Jean Ribault was the first to recognize Florida in the name of the King of France in 1562. The aim of his expedition was to find, in the New World, a safe harbor for French Huguenots persecuted in France because of their religion – a situation similar to that of the English Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock 58 years later.