CHARLOTTE — The man which the Barringer Academic Center was named after has Confederate ties and now the community is weighing in on changing the school’s name.
[READ MORE: CMS to discuss fate of Barringer Academic Center’s name]
The community was given three candidates to choose from, but Barringer said two of the names did not follow the CMS board’s policy.
In 2019, the CMS Board of Education amended a policy about which individuals schools and facilities can be named after. The new policy requires people who have been deceased for at least five years..
The school renaming committee will meet again to identify three school names that follow the policy.
The committee has other potential names for evaluation. A survey will be available once there are three finalists.
Initially, the committee narrowed the search down to these three finalists.
Charles Parker who was an ex-slave and helped start Moores Sancutary AME Zion Church. He became a landowner and helped other African Americans own land, as well.
T.J. Reddy was a poet and artist. Reddy supported education in the Black community. He founded the Black Student Union and African Studies Department at UNC Charlotte. He died in 2019.
Judy Williams founded Mothers for Murdered Offspring and helped families grieve and cope after the loss of a child. She died last year.
Next Steps:
- March 9: Renaming committee to meet and review original list of names submitted. Guiding principles will be followed to identify three potential school names for consideration.
- March 11: Official write-up of third candidate to be shared publicly.
- March 12-18: Survey will be live.
In addition to the online survey, people who do not have access to the internet can call into the school to vote.
Cox Media Group