Prince William County School Board Chairman Ryan Sawyers said the decision to rename the school was an idea that was born in an 11th-hour compromise during School Board meeting recess after two failed tied votes to name the elementary school after Wilson and Hampton, respectively.
Potomac District School Board member Justin Wilk proposed the idea. He called Godwin a “segregationist governor,” and noted the school’s student population to majority minority.
Godwin, from Suffolk, Va. was the first person to be elected to two terms as a Virginia Governor. During his term as Lt. Governor, Godwin was a Democrat who upheld “massive resistance” by denying black students entrance to public schools, which had been federally mandated.
By the time Godwin was elected Governor in 1966, he had changed his views and had backed Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 campaign for office. While in the Governor’s office, Godwin raised taxes to support a new statewide community college system that, today, includes Northern Virginia Community College.
Godwin was elected governor for a second term in 1974 this time as a Republican. He became the frist U.S. governor to be elected as both a Democrat and a Republican.
The more I have talked to people, the more outrage I hear over this name change. The main reason people are angry is that the community was left out of the decision. The decision was made at the last minute and simply put, no one. knew about stripping Godwin Middle School of its name.
Anyone who knows anything about Virginia civics knows that the Lt. Governor is a tie breaker. Godwin certainly didn’t had no special power. “Massive Resistance” was over by at least half a decade by the time Godwin got in office as governor of Virginia.
Wasn’t Justin Wilk a Social studies teacher? He should know a little more about Virginia history if he is going to be making such a bold move. Its easy to brand someone a segregationist. Just about anyone who was an elected official in the 50’s and very early 60’s was. Then many elected officials met the challenge and changed once the Civil Rights Act was passed. On this matter, both Ryan Sawyers and Justin Wilk are simply wet behind the ears.
It also sounds like Mills Godwin had taken a path away from Virginia’s segregationist past. He turned his back on the segregationist candidate, William Story, and supported Lyndon Johnson and the Civil Right Act. To dismiss him as simply a segregation is unfair and frankly, ignorant. It ignores the man’s many accomplishments that contributed to the betterment of Virginia. How many of us have taken advantage of the community college system, for example.
The problem rests at the feet of the school board. They made a unilateral decision to appease others and didn’t involve the community. They also violated their own policy, again, and not only stripped the name of a school but also renamed it for a living person. Policy calls for the naming of schools after people to be done posthumously.
I would be interested in learning about Dr. Hampton’s verifiable accomplishments.
It sounds like the newer members of the school board have a thing or two to learn : Follow school board policy and don’t do over simplified knee-jerk reactions. Parts of the community simply will not forgive.
I’d start by asking about Mr Hampton’s doctorate from a defunct diploma mill.
I don’t know Mr. Hampton or anything about him. I will leave that to others who want to discuss the issue you bring up. My focus remains on stripping someone’s name from a school without community involvement and the School Board adhering to its own policies.
From the Potomaclocal.com:
How freaking convenient….these rules don’t apply?
What does the rule on renaming schools actually say then?
These dudes are making it up as they go along.
I hope the board of supervisors shoots them down so fast their heads will spin.
The decision was sneaky and unethical.
What does the board of supervisors have to do with it?
Supposedly they have to approve the name change on any polling place. Godwin Middle is a polling place.
(that’s from what I read and all I know.)
And where does the school board think the money will be coming from for all these possible renamings?
Good question.
@MoonHowler
Why does the name of the polling place have to change?
If Godwin is no longer named Godwin, then the polling place name must change.
That leads me to ask, will Godwin Drive remain Godwin Drive? If we cant name a school for a person because they are so unfit, in the eyes of some, how can a street name remain? Furthermore, part of Godwin Drive might be in the City of Manassas. What will they have to say about all this.
Once it starts, where does it stop? I can see several targets for the next round of someone’s political correctness.
Really? What about all the other polling places in PWC that are at schools but named for something else? Are you proposing the county change all those too? Why can’t it remain Godwin Precinct? Is there a rule I’m unaware of?
I don’t know. I am just telling you what I read.
I don’t see why you couldn’t have the polling place’s name remain Godwin. If the name Godwin is so offensive, I would think people would want it changed.
Apparently, the Godwin Alumni are now raising hell over it. People like to cling to their school names.
One of the biggest fights I have ever witnessed was the Osbourn/Osbourn Park fight…over name retention. It happened in the 70’s also. People are get furious when you start messing with their identity.
I think this whole thing has gone way too far. I heard that Justin Wilk’s wife found a confederate flag with N-lover painted in black on it in their mailbox.
So what do you suggest?
That still has nothing to do with the lack of transparency or the fact that the Godwin community was denied the appropriate process before their school name was taken away.
The flag in mailbox is inappropriate for any reason and has nothing to do with not following policy.
It has everything to do with this situation. Where was the outrage when Reagan Middle School was named? Check the PWCS School Board Agenda for March 2, 2011. Nowhere on the agenda was there an item to name what is now Reagan Middle School, only “Linton Hall Road” Elementary School, which became Piney Branch.
The school board WITHOUT THE TRANSPARENCY YOU TALK ABOUT, named the middle school after Ronald Reagan. No input from the community and it wasn’t on the agenda. Were there any riots on Facebook? See for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/PWCSNews/posts/10150099000857186
So is it really the lack of transparency or is it something else? Either way, nobody deserves to receive a racist “message” in the form of a confederate flag painted N-lover.
What year is it, really?
Had I known that Reagan Middle was named without input from the community I would have had a problem.
So clueless, what it is that you want from me? Do you want me to change my opinion? I certainly will not on the evidence presented so far.
I don’t like stripping the name of someone off a school. I don’t like excluding the school community, the community at large, or the county. I don’t like the the school board failing to follow school board policy.
That “is it something else” question is a dog whistle and I expect you to be more specific. I have given you my reasons. If you think there is something more, man up.
I don’t know why you are so surprised by racism. Surely you haven’t missed all the racists remarks made about President Obama.
I would prefer that going forward, PWC simply name schools for locations or wild flowers or hound dogs—anything but people. People are just becoming far too contentious.
It’s confused, not clueless and you and I agree on quite a lot, but this is not one of them. BTW, referring to me as clueless is one of those dog whistles you’re referring to. I’ve been on this blog for at least 2 years.
I have a hard time believing someone as involved in the community for as long as you have didn’t know about Reagan. Regardless, I’m not surprised by racism. I remember it in our own backyard in the form of Greg Letiecq and his merry men. But I am surprised that any reasonable person would defend Mills Godwin’s record. The man closed entire school systems for 5 years so black kids couldn’t get an education. It’s deplorable. That’s the name you want on a school? A school that is 87% minority?
I apologize for the clueless. That was unintentional. We do have a “Clueless” on this blog.
I know you have been on this blog for a long time also and it is not the first time I have confused your names. Again, sorry.
Let me address the Reagan Middle School issue. Neither Elena nor I could think of how that name came in to being. An end run, probably. Why haven’t I battled it? It slipped by me. Instead I sit around and gripe about it. Would I have challenged it? I don’t know. It wasn’t in my community. However, it was named Reagan as a new school. That is the difference.
As for “defending” Godwin, the man. I don’t think I have defended him as much as I have acknowledged that he evolved and did good things for the state. In the Virginia legislature, being a segregationist was ubiquitous. If you were in office, you were a segregationist. Most people were not cross burning klansmen, that was just their mind set. Was it right? No. Separate wasn’t equal.
Having said all that, isn’t that what we teach our children? If you do something wrong or make a mistake, you are expected to change and to do the right thing. Godwin made major contributions to Virginia.
My defense, as you seem to call it, is actually acknowledgement of change and redemption, I suppose. However, my issue isn’t really about Godwin the man. It’s about process. A school stands since 1970, with the name of a 2 term governor of Virginia. For 46 years, that cohesive Dale City community has been served by this school. It is an integral part of the community. Then, without involving the community or school personnel, that name is stripped from the school.
I doubt if many of those kids have any clue who Mills Godwin is. What they do know is that Godwin is the name of their school and it is part of their identity. That is what is really being stripped away and that just isn’t a good thing.
Not only is the identity being stripped from the current student body–it’s being stripped from 46 years of alumni–adults who as kids attended Godwin. That’s just a real kick in the teeth.
@MoonHowler
Moon – it is Confused that is asking the leading questions, I am sitting this one out.
@MoonHowler
we do and my feelings are hurt!
@clueless
It’s the C names, not the people.