Three Guesses Why This New Jersey Elementary School Is Dropping Thomas Jefferson From Its Name…You Won’t Need Two

An elementary school located in New Jersey has booted Thomas Jefferson off of its name due to the fact that the founder once owned slaves — as a lot of folks did back in that time period — all so they can appease the woke crowd floating around out there crusading for an end to racism by erasing our past.

You know, one of the reasons it’s good to remember the past is because it is something we learn from. We don’t need to erase the men of the past because they were flawed. We can celebrate their accomplishments and the good they did while also denouncing the fact they did bad things from time to time, such as owning slaves.

People are complicated beings. We need to take them in the context of the time in which they lived and when you look at Jefferson’s history, it seems he wanted to end the scourge of slavery one day himself, or at least see our nation do so.

According to The Daily Wire, a report from Fox News revealed that Thomas Jefferson Elementary located in South Orange will now be known as Delia Bolden Elementary. The name was picked off of a list that featured a number of other historical figures and some that didn’t mention people at all.

For those who are wondering, Delia Owens was the first black woman to graduate high school in the area. That is a massive achievement and one that should absolutely be recognized. But is this really how that ought to be done?

Then again, it’s definitely light years better than many of the other options that were included on the list. The place could’ve been named “Ruth Bader Ginsberg Elementary School.” Makes me shudder just thinking about it.

“I want to make that point that Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves,” board member Qawi Telesford went on to say during a June meeting that was organized as a means of discussing the possibility of a name change.

“He freed two while he was alive and seven after he died, which basically means I have a 1.5% chance of being free in Thomas Jefferson’s world. So, I am not thankful to him. I am thankful to the people who made sure that I could actually be free and be on the board with you today,” Telesford stated.

Hate to tell you sir, but it was the Declaration of Independence, along with the work Jefferson did in helping to establish the government that exists today, that paved the way for you to be free. Just something for you to think about.

“School Superintendent Ronald Taylor said in a statement that he was proud of the students for pushing for the name swap, which was also supported by faculty and staff,” the Daily Wire reported.

“Seeing the work that [the students] did, I think, exceeded the expectations of all of us who participated in that conversation, when that was the final outcome, to really engage our students and make this a real-life civics lesson with really strong connections to governance,” he continued.

“This isn’t the first time the Founding Father’s name was struck from a school. In 2021, the Falls Church school board in Virginia voted unanimously to change the names of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and George Mason High School, The Daily Wire previously reported. They also argued that Jefferson’s legacy was tainted by his slave-owning past,” the Daily Wire reported.

Then there was the removal of the 200-year-old statue of Jefferson from the city council chamber in New York City just last fall.

“This Administration owes it to the more than five million New Yorkers of color our members – past, present and future – represent, to resolve that the individuals memorialized within the confines of our People’s House be reflective not only of the best traditions of our city’s history and its diversity but unquestionable character,” the city’s council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus went on to remark in a statement put out at the time, as reported by The Daily Wire.