Our most recent issue, Volume 67: Number 1, features the history of school naming (and renaming) in Montgomery County. Historical documentation shows the following individuals for whom seven current MCPS schools are named—and who figured significantly in our nation’s and/or county’s development—were also enslavers: Montgomery Blair, Francis Scott Key, Zadok Magruder, Richard Montgomery, John Poole, Julius West, and Thomas Sprigg Wootton. Included are biographical snapshots of the seven school namesakes, contextual background on slavery in Montgomery County, a general survey on the naming (and previous renamings) of Montgomery County’s public schools through the years, and a brief roundup of other recent area renamings stemming from increased scrutiny of past racism.
