New York School Renames Itself For Obama
This image provided by the Pinal County Sheriffs Office, shows the vehicle where five burned, dead bodies were found, in Pinal County's Vekol Valley area, west of Casa Grande, Ariz. The bodies were so badly burned that investigators couldn't immediately determine their gender or ethnicity. Authorities say the incident may be drug related. (AP Photo/ Pinal County Sheriffs Office)
A school on Long Island has been renamed Barack Obama Elementary School in honor of his historic rise to the presidency.
The move at the largely black and Hispanic school in Hempstead is among the first in what will likely be a wave of name changes around the world now that Mr. Obama has been elected president, from schools and streets to parks and mountaintops.
The prime minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua has said he's taking measures to have the island's highest mountain peak renamed Mount Obama. In Portland, Ore., students want to rename Clark K-8 At Binnsmead school. Elsewhere on Long Island, the Clear Stream Avenue School in Valley Stream will consider a renaming resolution in December. And parents already have been naming newborns Barack.
"When I'm older I'm going to look back and say I went to Barack Obama Elementary School," said fifth-grader Teonte Jackson, who played Mr. Obama in a mock presidential debate before the election. "He had the guts to run for president and believe in himself."
The name Barack Obama Elementary School was the idea of children at the former Ludlum Elementary School, according to officials at Hempstead Union Free School District.
Mr. Obama's election was a big source of pride, and the schools walls are plastered with Obama signs. District officials believe it's the first school in the country to be named for America's first black president.
Some of the children read essays about Mr. Obama and the election at the school board meeting on Thursday night, when officials voted for the change. "That really was effective," principal Jean Bligen said Friday.
The essays were the culmination of a fifth-grade project that included a mock presidential and vice presidential debate. Just before the Nov. 4 election, the kids repeated the debate for parents and the public - followed by a mock election that Mr. Obama won by a landslide.
"After the debate, the children said, 'If Obama really is elected president, can we rename our school?"' said Joseph Laria, the district's superintendent. "It was so well done in terms of content and articulation that the school staff picked up the baton and made a presentation to the school board."
The new name will appear on a sign in front of the building and on stationery, "hopefully before Christmas," at a cost of several thousand dollars to the district, Laria said.
The change will be formalized at a ceremony sometime in December. School officials are hoping Gov. David Paterson can attend. The state's first black governor graduated from Hempstead High School.
Hempstead is in Long Island's Nassau County, about 25 miles east of New York City.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The move at the largely black and Hispanic school in Hempstead is among the first in what will likely be a wave of name changes around the world now that Mr. Obama has been elected president, from schools and streets to parks and mountaintops.
The prime minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua has said he's taking measures to have the island's highest mountain peak renamed Mount Obama. In Portland, Ore., students want to rename Clark K-8 At Binnsmead school. Elsewhere on Long Island, the Clear Stream Avenue School in Valley Stream will consider a renaming resolution in December. And parents already have been naming newborns Barack.
"When I'm older I'm going to look back and say I went to Barack Obama Elementary School," said fifth-grader Teonte Jackson, who played Mr. Obama in a mock presidential debate before the election. "He had the guts to run for president and believe in himself."
The name Barack Obama Elementary School was the idea of children at the former Ludlum Elementary School, according to officials at Hempstead Union Free School District.
Mr. Obama's election was a big source of pride, and the schools walls are plastered with Obama signs. District officials believe it's the first school in the country to be named for America's first black president.
Some of the children read essays about Mr. Obama and the election at the school board meeting on Thursday night, when officials voted for the change. "That really was effective," principal Jean Bligen said Friday.
The essays were the culmination of a fifth-grade project that included a mock presidential and vice presidential debate. Just before the Nov. 4 election, the kids repeated the debate for parents and the public - followed by a mock election that Mr. Obama won by a landslide.
"After the debate, the children said, 'If Obama really is elected president, can we rename our school?"' said Joseph Laria, the district's superintendent. "It was so well done in terms of content and articulation that the school staff picked up the baton and made a presentation to the school board."
The five-member board passed the resolution unanimously: "Whereas ... the students did a wonderful job of carrying out their tasks and demonstrating their patriotism at an early age ... now be it resolved that the (board members) proudly rename the Ludlum Elementary School as the Barack Obama Elementary School."
The new name will appear on a sign in front of the building and on stationery, "hopefully before Christmas," at a cost of several thousand dollars to the district, Laria said.
The change will be formalized at a ceremony sometime in December. School officials are hoping Gov. David Paterson can attend. The state's first black governor graduated from Hempstead High School.
Hempstead is in Long Island's Nassau County, about 25 miles east of New York City.
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Posted by presjfk at 09:30 AM : Nov 22, 2008
Well said and true.
Posted by sblake63 at 10:17 AM : Nov 22, 2008
Seeing you sitting behind a computer is even sad.
Posted by fsw3 at 09:12 AM : Nov 22, 2008
Show me a Nation without racism and I will show you a nation of non-humans
Posted by excoachken at 10:33 AM : Nov 22, 2008
LOL but consider what kind of people live in San FranFAGsco. Does their opinion really matter. Most people have a negative view of California anyway.
Posted by sblake63
The sewage plant rename for Bush wasn''t approved by the electorate. Unfortunately. But it was good for a laugh!
As for the response from sblake63, it''s unusual to see someone so openly bigoted. And I don''t know where you get your ideas from, but California is the most populous state, and attracts people from all over the world. To say no one cares what Californians think is absurd. They frequently enact laws that later are followed by the rest of the country. Bigots like you are becoming an ever-tinier minority and no-one cares what YOU think.