F.D. Roosevelt Public School in London, Ont., will now be known as Forest City Public School, according to the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB).
Trustees supported changing the name of the east London school at a board meeting on Tuesday as a result of a broad review of all schools named after individuals following a report from the school name review committee.
The purpose of the committee’s review was to ensure school names across TVDSB “continue to reflect the Board’s commitment to promoting human rights, equity and inclusive learning environments that honour the diversity of Thames Valley schools.”
The school was renamed because of “F.D. Roosevelt’s historical connection to racism and controversial approach to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, which are inconsistent with the school board’s values and commitments to human rights and equity,” the school board said in a statement.
“As an American historical political figure, Roosevelt’s legacy also has limited relevance to the TVDSB community,” the statement added.
The American president served as the 32nd top politician in the United States from 1933 to 1945, and was the only president elected to office four times.
However, historians accuse Roosevelt of performing various acts of racism throughout his political career, including the internment of Japanese Americans.
According to TVDSB, the name suggestion of Forest City Public School was the first choice out of the selected short list of three names that were put forward to the school community to vote on, receiving 51 per cent of the votes.
Plans are currently underway to update the school signage, logo and mascot.
Additionally, Sir John A. Macdonald Public School is also in the process of being renamed. The school is named after the first prime minister of Canada, who has been labelled as an “architect” in implementing Canada’s residential school system.
In 2022, Ryerson Public School, named after Egerton Ryerson, who has also been deemed as “instrumental” in designing Canada’s residential school system, was renamed as Old North Public School following a similar review by the school board.