AHHS (Adolf Hitler High School)

Never will exist will it? So why does Nathan Bedford Forrest High School or NBFHS still exist today?

In a 5-2 vote the school board in Duval County decided to retain the current name of it’s high school, as Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.

Now let me jump into this quickly, I understand that history is kept on all sides, the good the bad and the ugly. I don’t agree with everything that is said in the story but here is my own opinion.

But why retain such history that makes people feel inferior or upset? And what was so wrong about this suggestion, “Some had suggested naming the school after the street it sits on, or honoring a graduate whose plane was shot down in 1991 over Iraq on the first night of Operation Desert Storm.”

Hitler was and is a historic leader. But we don’t name high schools after him because he is not some icon that most people follow and share the same opinions with. There are a few, but they are truly in the minority.

Same with a man who was apart of a hate group and who helped massacre innocent people in Tennessee.

Why not pick a person who is worthy of the honor to have their name placed upon a high school. Places where we should try to resist the violence and teach acceptance.

I’m not advocating for a Black person’s name to be on the school nor a white persons. But here’s a thought, you wouldn’t even see Louis Farrakkan’s name on a school as well. Nor Reverend Wrights. Or any other black radical that has made a name from his/her self.

So why does Nathan Bedford Forrest still have his name on a school, when he never promoted acceptance and inclusion?

And truly it does not matter the demographics of the school population in present time. I believe that regardless of who attends the school, the name should still provoke a response such as those recorded in the article.

~ by Latisha on November 4, 2008.