New York School Renames Itself For Obama

(CBS/AP)  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 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.

[ImageThink]

Children need to excel and make something of themselves (and our country) by taking advantage of their education. They learn to be intelligent communicators by having discussions and voicing their opinions. Encourage our children to learn through communication not anger.

[toolmangler-2009]

I voted for Obama but I would wait to see how his presidency goes before I named anything after him. Imagine going to a school named, George Bush Elementary. Ouch!
Posted by presjfk at 09:30 AM : Nov 22, 2008



Well said and true.

[rixmix98]

Seeing Lincoln compared to this "baby killer" is sad!"

Posted by sblake63 at 10:17 AM : Nov 22, 2008



Seeing you sitting behind a computer is even sad.

[toolmangler-2009]

He won the U.S. Presidency even though he had dark colored skin in a nation that has been pock marked with racism throughout its history. If he never does another thing, and he will, this is acheivement enough.
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

[nursehope]

Winning the primary and election was an historic victory worthy of renaming just about anything they want to. If it makes people feel energized and proud then by all means DO IT!

[jclark7613]

Please...to all you ignorant people that are still claim he was not born in the US...give up....ok...he won and he will be all of our president for the next 8 years....at this point you are just starting to sound stupid and ignorant.

[cdfoxtrot5]

Hey, Bush already has his name on a sewage treatment center in San Francisco, I heard.


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.

[differnet]

While I am tentatively pleased with Obama''s picks for his cabinet, I think it is wrong to name something for a President while he is in office (never mind has yet to take office). You don''t know what his legacy will be. You don''t know if he will be a great or bad President. Imagine if shortly after 9/11 when Bush had 85% approval if a school had named itself after him. That school would now be a laughing stock. Heck, I think it''s wrong to name things after people while they are still alive. It''s creepy and just smacks of idolization.

[excoachken]

Hey, Bush already has his name on a sewage treatment center in San Francisco, I heard.

[hotpaulie]

I wonder when Bush will get his own university?