“What’s in a Name?” Richard Montgomery High School has a Tough Time Answering this Question

In the wake of the racial injustices surrounding the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes, several student activist groups launched a petition to change the name of Richard Montgomery High School.

The petition, which was initiated on June 17, 2020 by the Richard Montgomery Super Political Activism Club (Super PAC) and the Richard Montgomery Black Student Union (BSU), currently has 4,502 supporters as of October 3, 2020.

Isabelle Scholes-Young, a former Richard Montgomery student and a founder of the petition, stated that the Super PAC and the BSU started the petition to “create a way for students to make their voices heard in choosing a namesake that truly represents them and their values.” She believes that by changing the name of the school, “it’ll bring about a larger conversation regarding who we should honor and celebrate, and who we shouldn’t.”

According to the Washington  Post, Richard Montgomery, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, became a slave owner when he married into his wife’s family. Although he never set foot in modern-day Montgomery County, it was named after him. According to the Richard Montgomery website, Richard Montgomery was originally named Rockville High School until 1935, when it was renamed Richard Montgomery to distinguish it from Rockville Colored High School during the segregation era.

Those who have signed the petition have various views regarding their reasons and what the new name should be. Richard Montgomery junior Hana O’Looney believes that “students should have a say in how their school is run” and that it is the duty of the student body “to make sure that we do everything we can to fight for a school and community that is welcoming, accepting, and a comfortable space for all students.” Wootton High School freshman Gretchen Gimore believes that “every student should feel safe and comfortable” and that by changing the name of the school, “we can take a step towards seeing equity by not promoting inhuman acts with a racist name.”

Suggested alternatives for people to name the school after include Emily Catherine Edmonson, a woman born into slavery in 1835, who later became an outspoken abolitionist and worked alongside Frederick Douglas; Lillian Beatrice Brown, the grandaughter of slaves who became the principal and sole teacher at Germantown Colored Elementary School, a one-room segregated school for African American students with 60 pupils and dismal resources; and Gladys Young, the ‘Harriet Tubman of Montgomery County’ who campaigned for equal rights in housing, education, political action and law enforcement.

This ongoing petition is just one of the ways that students in Montgomery County can make their views heard.

This article was written by Rebecca Fuchs of Walter Johnson High School

Photo by Anna Lee of Richard Montgomery High School