Like naming a street in the poorest part of town Martin Luther King Boulevard, and then leaving

It does nothing to address the poverty itself, but it shows “we care”

San Francisco cancels Washington, Lincoln, and its own state’s senator, Diane Feinstein

George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson were among a list of historical figures whose names will be removed from San Francisco’s public schools following a 6-1 vote by the school board Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

The presidents were among a long list of men and women whose namesake schools will soon be renamed. Others on the list include Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words to the national anthem, former presidents William McKinley, James Garfield, James Monroe, and Herbert Hoover, Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere and author Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Replacing signage at the 44 schools will cost more than $400,000, according to the Courthouse News. The price tag could also go up to around $1 million for schools to get new activity uniforms, repaint gymnasium floors, etc., according to the Chronicle. The district is facing a budget deficit.

While the board focused on renaming the schools in the Tuesday meeting, it did not discuss reopening schools from coronavirus shutdowns.

In the case of Roosevelt Middle School, it wasn’t clear if the board knew which former President Roosevelt it was named for, but decided to have it removed anyway.

Board member Mark Sanchez, however, called the decision a "moral message."

Like the rest of the state, San Francisco has failed its black students for decades.

San Francisco, a progressive enclave and beacon for technological innovation, has the worst black student achievement of any county in California. Only 19 percent of black students passed the state test in reading, compared to 31 percent of black students statewide. The problem in San Francisco may be severe, but it’s not unique. Huge gaps between black kids’ scores and those of their white peers have existed in California for decades.

Parents from San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood gathered around school cafeteria tables and listened as administrators delivered a hopeful message: Their children, who all attend Charles R. Drew Preparatory Academy, one of the city’s few schools serving mostly black students, were already on track to do better on next year’s state tests.

But the staff didn’t tell the parents about this year’s results, even though the recent meeting had been billed as a forum to discuss the scores, which the state published online several weeks ago. Those results present a much different picture. Nine out of 10 black students at the school had failed reading and math exams.

“Really? That’s surprising,” said parent Ashley Wysinger, 31, when a reporter shared the results with her afterward.

What’s in a name? An excuse for failure.