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Boston schools that were named after a president with no particular ties to Boston to be renamed for Mel King

By adamg on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 3:59pm

Mayor Wu and School Superintendent Mary Skipper will formally rename the McKinley schools - four schools in one complex in the South End after longtime Boston civil-rights activist Mel King tomorrow.

McKinley annexed Hawaii and went to war against Spain, which led to the occupation of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam, before his assassination in 1901, but had no real connections to Boston. In contrast, King, who died last month, spent his life in Boston working for civil rights and economic opportunity, in part as a state representative.

The newly named Melvin H. King South End Academy on Warren Avenue serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The renaming ceremony starts at 10 a.m.

Neighborhoods: 
South End
Free tagging: 
Mel King
Boston Public Schools
Warren Avenue


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Comments

By M. Sanchez on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:03pm.

Bravo!

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By John Costello on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:35pm.

The Dashikis would be a great team name.

(For those of you now grabbing your chest, Mel used to wear, until just before he ran for Mayor, dashikis while the legislature was in session).

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By lbb on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 12:25pm.

Are there many sports teams at any level that are named after items of clothing?

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By Ron Newman on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 12:31pm.

come to mind immediately. Also, Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL).

Minor League Baseball has the Augusta GreenJackets.

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By John Costello on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 3:07pm.

I wasn't going to remind someone of their brilliant ignorance. You saved me.

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By lbb on Thu, 04/27/2023 - 9:34am.

...which, for me at least, isn't "many" - not when you compare it to, say, animals, ethnic groups and meteorological phenomena.

(it may be "many" for certain brilliant people, but then...)

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By Chandler Bing AI on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:09pm.

Tomorrow is street cleaning day. Morning for one side of Dartmouth and Warren, afternoon for Mel King side of Dartmouth and Warren.

Be careful out there.

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By Boston_Bloke on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:41pm.

" no particular ties to Boston " ?

He was our president. That's his tie to Boston.

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By Kaz on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:51pm.

...those are the ties that bind the most, amirite?

Other than MA voting for him, it's not even clear that he ever even stepped foot in the state.

However, black citizens in Boston wrote McKinley in 1899 asking him to condemn the lynchings occurring in the South...and he ignored them and placated the white supremacists instead.

https://schoolyardnews.com/fix-bostons-mckinley-schools-rename-it-melvin...

Edith Bazile was asking for this name change since 2021 (and probably earlier). I hope she's invited to the renaming ceremony.

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By Ron Newman on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:02pm.

and I sure don't want to ever see a school named after him.

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By jmeltzer on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 7:52am.

at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington had to add "John C" to its signs about three years ago.

(It's named after FG's uncle)

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By anon on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:04pm.

But 50-100 years from now, he’ll just be a local community activist who’s past doesn’t correlate to the present.

Once a US president, you’ll never disappear from history books.

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By John Costello on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:36pm.

I know a lot more about Melnea Cass now than I did as a teenager.

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By Friartuck on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 7:49pm.

In support of your thesis.

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By Lee on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 10:46pm.

The Harriet Tubman House is gone.

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By John Costello on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 8:28am.

The group that forms up the Settlement House is still in business providing services at 48 Rutland Street.

Are you one of those twits who got up in arms because they thought "racist Boston" was tearing down Harriet Tubman's actual house? Like her 1975-built house was being razed?

Their main building is gone but at the same time, a lot of their client base has moved on. Why have people moved on? Well, its because of people like you moving to the South End, driving up rents and forcing the people who use the Tubman's house services not being able to afford the neighborhood anymore.

Shows how much you know about your own section of the City.

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By Lee on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 1:36pm.

“Unless you are some sort of wolf hybrid, do not associate people as being the same as humans“

I’m still enjoying this one from yesterday but thanks for today’s gem as well.

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By ZachAndTired on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:25pm.

Naming anything after any of our presidents is honestly kind of a bad look.

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By Michael Kerpan on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:28pm.

... has earned enough credit to deserve a school named in his honor.

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By brianjdamico on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 5:28pm.

Words have meaning. You could make the same statement about ANY municipality within the United States of America. That is not particular but rather genetic ties to any municipality or unincorporated land of your choosing.

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By anon on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 4:43pm.

Why not honor both of these great men and call it the Melkingley School?

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By Username Unknown on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 8:48pm.

Naming places after people is not a good idea any longer.

Eventually a skeleton will fall out out Mel's closet and then we are left to come up with a new name that makes some group feel good again.

Always a good show.

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By brianjdamico on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 9:03pm.

You will have to make a more compelling argument to support your opinion.

Otherwise, we shall continue to name things after people.

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By Username Unknown on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 9:09pm.

Have you been under a rock over the past decade?

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By brianjdamico on Tue, 04/25/2023 - 9:41pm.

n/t

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By jmeltzer on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 7:53am.

we'll get things like the "TD Bank North Elementary School".

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By lbb on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 12:28pm.

...TD Bank North starts paying their fair share of taxes to support the public schools.

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By cybah on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 8:24am.

One thing that've always found odd is how NYC ditched naming schools in favor of the "PSXXX" naming convention. (i.e. PS145 is "The Bloomingdale School").

No one ever refers to them as their namesake.. just "I went to PS145"

Maybe Boston should take a lead from NYC and start to do that instead of name schools after things and people.

I mean I don't care what the school is named, and Mel King was Boston leader so its a good choice. But I can't help but think in about 40 years people will think "King School" was named after MLK, not Mel King. (people will go "who was he?"). (and yes people will just call it "King School" and drop the rest of the name)

So maybe we should just call it PS102 instead.

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By oddjob60 on Wed, 04/26/2023 - 8:30am.

They can even reuse a lot of the letters!

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By Rwgfy on Thu, 04/27/2023 - 8:50am.

Probably their deepest contribution to the system.

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