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"I personally feel it is just the right thing to do. As children we were taught the “fore fathers” were these great men who did great things, which they did but they were also doing terrible things. So many of us walked the halls of Madison and had no clue of the dark side he had. These kids now though they have so much more access to information that was hidden from us.Just seriously think how that information we have now makes these students of color feel. Knowing he had slaves,looked at them as less than human is enough for me as a Native/Black man.Having your name on a school is an honor and the time of honoring Madison as with his name on a high school in my eyes is over. Let’s move forward and make it right for the children that will walk the halls of a new building and give it a name we all can honor. His legacy will live on in museums and history books so let’s give that newly built school on 82nd a fresh start with a new name." - Clark Owens
"My daughter is eight and will be attending the high school on NE 82nd St. We are raising her to understand history and to be a proud Black student. We want her to walk into her school building and have confidence that the community and school board who came before her cared about creating a school that is designed for her to be successful and expresses the inclusive aspirations of our district and community." -Barb Macon
"I’m excited for our school to have a name that I feel represented by, and that highlights the strengths of our community." - Athene Marston
"I want a school name where all students feel represented and proud to be associated with." - Tonya Farmer
"Our family lives in the Cully neighborhood and our kids have been fortunate to attend Rigler Elementary, Beaumont Middle School and now Madison High School. Our son is a junior there and our daughter will be a freshman in the fall. One valuable aspect of our children’s school experience has been that they got to participate in the Spanish Immersion program and study alongside students from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, with many different languages represented and rich, diverse cultural heritages to learn from. We are grateful for the community we got to be a part of and the opportunity we have had to learn their stories. Our national reckoning with issues of race and power means that we have the opportunity to pay attention to and value the stories that have for too long gone unnoticed or unappreciated. We have the chance to examine our buildings, our statues, the symbols that make up our culture and we have the opportunity to ask whose story is missing, who has not been invited to the table. I believe that a name change is a vital step in creating a place where everyone is welcome and everyone can stake a claim." - Laura Moulton
"For too long, our school name has honored someone who enslaved others and promoted white supremacy. It’s time our school name matched our commitment to diversity, equity and anti-racism."- Brady Bennon
"I want to leave a legacy behind before I graduate high school. I want the new school to have a fresh start and identity that not only represents its students, but is one that the students and staff can be proud of." - Cindy Nguyen
"With the building being rebuilt having a name that fit our sense of moving forward felt important. I want our school’s name to be one everyone can say with pride. The last name was not a reflexion of who we are as a community, so we need to find one that is." - Lesly Valdivia Marquez
"To embody our CREED values more genuinely, with a name that represents change as we enter a new chapter within our newly remodeled school." -Miguel Rodriguez
" Names are incredibly powerful: they’re a banner for a community, something to rally under and feel a shared connection to. However, our current name isn’t one everyone can feel a connection to. Renaming the school gives us a chance to find a new banner, a new symbol to rally under, one that powerfully represents our values and ideas, one that everyone in the community can find meaning and connection in." -Zane Emerson
What does changing the name mean to you?
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