April 21, 2021 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 9
Atlanta High School Is Being Renamed
After Baseball Icon Hank Aaron After
Years Of Being Named After KKK Leader
A
n Atlanta high
school formerly
named after a KKK
leader is now be-
ing renamed in honor of
the late, great baseball
icon Hank Aaron, Blavity
reports.
The Atlanta Board of
Education voted unani-
mously to rename Forest
Hill Academy in honor
of the late baseball icon
Hank Aaron, who passed
away earlier this year at
86. The high school was
formerly named after
Nathan Bedford Forrest,
a Confederate general
and the first Grand Wiz-
ard of the Ku Klux Klan.
The school is one in a
long line of institutions
reconciling with their
racist symbols and past.
According to The South-
ern Poverty Law Center,
there are 718 identified
Confederate monuments
in the nation as of 2019.
More than 300 existing
in Georgia, Virginia,
North Carolina, and 100
identified public K-12
schools and three higher
learning institutions af-
ter Confederate leaders.
“It is very important
that we understand our
history. It’s very import-
ant that we understand
where we are coming
from. It gives a lot of cre-
dence to our character
and our morals,” said
Michelle Olympiadis, a
school board member.
Aaron was a legendary
baseball player and a
human rights advocate.
He played 23 seasons in
the major leagues, 21 of
those with the Atlanta
Braves, breaking Babe
Ruth’s home run record
during his time with the
team. In 2014, Aaron
spoke about the nation’s
history of racism, say-
ing, “We are not that far
removed from when I
was chasing the record.
If you think that, you are
fooling yourself. A lot of
things have happened
in this country, but we
have so far to go. There’s
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN WINTER/BLAVITY
By BOTWC Staff
not a whole lot that has
changed.”
The Hank Aaron New
Beginnings
Academy
will start a new chapter
for the high school, in-
stilling its students with
the values of the late
legend. Under normal
circumstances, district
policy requires a five-
year waiting period after
a person passes before
naming a school in their
honor. That requirement
can be waived if all board
members agree.
The district also has
plans to change Henry
W. Grady High School,
Grady Stadium, and Jo-
seph E. Brown Middle
School, all of which are
linked to historic rac-
ist figures. Forest Hills
Drive, the street where
the school resides, will
also undergo a name
change.
This change is the first
step towards long-last-
ing progress and right-
ing the wrongs of this
nation’s racist, white su-
premacist delusion.
Originally published on
BecauseOfThemWeCan.
com
News
Senator Patterson
Passes “Domicile
Unknown” Bill
The Skanner News
SALEM – Senate Bill
850 passed the Ore-
gon State Senate today
near-unanimous sup-
port. Senator Deb Pat-
terson (D-Salem) spon-
sored this bill to ensure
that the state tracks the
deaths of unhoused Or-
egonians.
“For the sake of those
living and dying on
our streets, we must
accurately track data
around the deaths of
our houseless neigh-
bors. A collective de-
sire exists to address
Oregon’s houseless cri-
sis and provide shelter
and care,” said Senator
Patterson, who chairs
the Senate Committee
on Health Care.
Senate Bill 850 re-
quires an unhoused
person’s residence be
marked “Domicile Un-
known” at their time
of death, allowing the
state to better track
information about all
who call Oregonians
home.
“By tracking this data,
we can learn if the steps
we are taking are work-
ing and we can prevent
complacency. We can-
not allow this crisis to
feel normal or okay,”
said Senator Patterson.
“Most
importantly,
we must provide some
humanity and dignity
in death. By tracking
the data we can learn
about their full lives, we
can become informed
about their challeng-
es, and honor the pain
and grief of their loved
ones.”
Multnomah County
Chair Deborah Kafoury
spoke in support of the
bill at a public hearing.
Multnomah County has
produced an annual re-
port entitled “Domicile
Unknown” since 2011.
That report reveals im-
portant demographic
and statistical informa-
tion, shares the stories
of our neighbors and
informs needed policy
changes.
Senate Bill 850 now
goes to the House of
Representatives
for
consideration.