When community members called for the renaming of Haight Elementary School because of the racist actions of its namesake, Henry Huntly Haight, some teachers and residents voiced concern that changing the name would “erase history.” The former Haight School Renaming Committee responded by committing to create a legacy project to find ways to honor the experiences and nostalgia of former students and staff, while also explaining the need to rename the school.
According to the Haight School Legacy Committee, a group of parents at the now-named Love Elementary School involved in the renaming process, the purpose of the renaming and the community engagement process should be acknowledged and celebrated. Parents are raising money and collecting artifacts to create a permanent display at the school, which they hope will educate current and future students, staff, and community members on how and why the school’s name changed from Haight to Love.
The renaming process started in December 2017 when this author contacted the school’s Principal and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and informed them of former Gov. Haight’s anti-Black and anti-Asian words and actions. In 2018, parents started a petition to create a School Renaming Committee. The Committee developed a civic engagement process to identify potential names. The school held an election in fall 2018 and students, teachers, and families voted on the top names and finally on whether the name Love would replace Haight. In 2019, the Board of Education voted to rename Haight to Love Elementary School.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 interrupted Love’s first year, but the commitment of parents involved in the renaming process to preserve and display history has not wavered.
“We hope that the display will tell the story of Haight School and Love Elementary and provide past, current, and future students, staff, and families with a framework for understanding why and how the school was renamed,” Rochelle Lokting said. Lokting is a Love parent and served on the Haight Renaming Committee. She is also joined by Rachel Lopez Metzger, another Love parent and PTA liaison, and Love parent and advocate Puja Batail.
The Legacy Committee is currently raising funds to purchase a display case that will exhibit articles of the school’s history, the renaming process, and emphasize students’ voices in the process. In the fall of 2021, Love teachers voted to place the display in the school’s Multipurpose Room. The Legacy Committee reformed earlier this year to complete the project.
The display case will include memorabilia like old photographs of the school and students, as well as information about the name change voting process, like ballots and voter pamphlets in a display case. Excerpts from writings by students during an essay contest will also be included. All of the essays will be included in a binder to be housed in the school’s Multimedia Room.
To prepare the display case by next spring, the Legacy Committee launched a GoFundMe to raise $3,000. The committee is also seeking materials for the Legacy Display. Donations not considered may be photographed/scanned and placed on the Love website, donated to the Alameda Museum, or returned.
For more information about the Legacy Committee, contact Rochelle Lokting. To support the fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/haight-school-legacy-display.
For information about the school renaming process, visit https://renamehaight.wordpress.com.
This story originally appeared in the Alameda Sun.
RENAME HAIGHT 