2024 Winning Essay
“When we have institutions — not just schools — named after Confederate leaders, or those who perpetuated racism and lynchings and hate, that exacerbates feelings of race in this country,” says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. It is clear that our townspeople are divided on the topic of whether our town’s name should be changed or not, however, it must be clear to all that our town is named after a racist Confederate general. It is important to understand the true story and meaning behind our town’s name as well as how it affects its residents. As we seek to move into a more equal, inclusive, and loving environment, our town’s name must be changed to reflect that. Until that happens, it is imperative that we at the very least, change the name of our schools.
For those who do not already know, our small town is named after Confederate general Braxton Bragg, who was born in Warrenton, North Carolina. Braxton Bragg served in the Second Seminole War and later in the Mexican-American War where he received nation-wide fame for his leadership and victory over the Mexican forces in the Battle of Buena Vista. Bragg went on to receive full command of over 10,000 troops in the Confederate Army that treacherously fought against the United States government and its ideals of liberty. Not to mention that history remembers him as the worst Confederate general, a total loser (American History Central). Five years before the start of the Civil War, Bragg resigned from his position in the Union Army and purchased a plantation in Louisiana and a little more than 100 slaves (American Battlefield Trust). In the summer of 1857, Lieutenant Horatio Gibson was sent to establish a military fort along the Noyo River to “protect” the new settlers from the Pomo natives that inhabited the land, which he named after his Mexican-American War commander, Braxton Bragg (City of Fort Bragg). Although the fort was named four years before the Civil War started and he never set foot on it, General Bragg participated in and led the largest racially-driven wars in United States history against Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and African Americans, for which he is remembered to this day. No doubt, some of our townspeople want to change our name and I know many students at Fort Bragg High School and Fort Bragg Middle School would rather not attend an educational institution named for a person such as Braxton Bragg.
In the last decade, there has been a movement across the country to rename institutions, cities, towns, schools, and even highways named after racist historical figures (Ed Source). Most people have heard of the other place across the country in North Carolina, Braxton Bragg’s home state, by the name of “Fort Bragg.” One year ago, the United States Army renamed the nation’s largest military base to “Fort Liberty,” because as they said: “the name was nothing to brag about” (NPR). Woodrow Wilson Elementary in San Leandro, California was recently renamed on the basis that during Wilson’s presidency racist and segregationist acts were practiced (KRON4). According to Education Week, California has a total of two schools named after a Confederate leader; Fort Bragg Middle School and Fort Bragg High School. If schools named after former presidents are being renamed, why can’t we rename our school which is named after a horrible person who fought to uphold white supremacy? Furthermore, there is no reason why the children of our beloved town should involuntarily have to attend schools emblazoned with the name of a racist person and be proud of it. I guess we can also say that “our town’s name is also nothing to brag about.”
Will changing our town’s name affect or erase its history? In simple words, not at all. To start off, our town’s history begins with the displacement of the Pomo Native Americans that had inhabited the land approximately 10,000 years before the arrival of white settlers. In 1865, just eight years after the fort was established, the last Pomo Natives were forcibly marched by army units from the Mendocino Indian Reservation onto a reservation in Round Valley (City of Fort Bragg). It is very important to acknowledge who this land originally belonged to and honor them in an appropriate manner. Regarding our town’s rich history, it is not going anywhere and rather than losing that history we can enhance it by changing its name to something that represents us all as a whole. So, just how important is a name? According to Springer Link, “When they are descriptive, they emphasize spatial characteristics that are important for a community – they reflect in this way the interests of a given community and are condensed narratives on the cultural disposition of human communities in history and today.” There is no way that the name “Bragg” reflects the interest of our town in the past or the present, nor is it a condensed narrative of our local culture. Or as another article explains it, “renaming landmarks ensures that more community members feel seen and respected. This process helps dismantle the legacy of racism and oppression in the United States” (Care Harder). Our town might not be the most diverse place in the country, however, we have people of Native American, African American, and most definitely Mexican American descent that might feel offended and/or uncomfortable that their hometown carries the name of a person whose goal in his lifetime was to get rid of them.
Our town and our schools can no longer bear a name that perpetuates racism and hate because that is not what our town or schools are about, so the names must be changed in order to achieve a community that celebrates its locals instead of a racist Confederate general and the abuse of people of color. It is time to look around and see the problem our town is facing today and take the first step towards the solution. That is why our neighbors and townspeople need to support changing the name of our schools and eventually our town so that we can all be represented by a name that we take pride in as a community.
Works Cited
Wikipedia, https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/wilson-elementary-renamed-to-honor-indigenous- group/. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Wikipedia, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_48. Accessed 18 April 2024.
“Historic Information | Fort Bragg, CA.” City of Fort Bragg, https://www.city.fortbragg.com/services/historic-information. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Jones, Carolyn. “California districts look to rename schools linked to racist history.” EdSource, 19 June 2020,
https://edsource.org/2020/california-districts-look-to-rename-schools-linked-to-racist-past
/634080. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Jones, Carolyn. “California districts look to rename schools linked to racist history.” EdSource,
19 June 2020, https://edsource.org/2020/california-districts-look-to-rename-schools-linked-to-racist-past /634080. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Laird, Katie. “Renaming racist landmarks to reflect modern values — Care Harder.” Care Harder, 8 May 2023,
https://www.careharder.com/blog/renaming-racist-landmarks-to-reflect-modern-values.
Accessed 18 April 2024.
“Portrait of Braxton Bragg.” American Battlefield Trust,
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/braxton-bragg. Accessed 18 April 2024.
Price, Jay. “Presidential campaign talking point: Fort Bragg's name change.” NPR, 26 June 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184268004/presidential-campaign-talking-point-fort-br aggs-name-change. Accessed 18 April 2024.
“Worst Confederate General, Braxton Bragg, 5 Reasons.” American History Central, 27 January 2023,
https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/braxton-bragg-facts-five-things-to-know-about-t he-worst-confederate-general/. Accessed 18 April 2024.