Name change: Racist Wilson unsuited for Tacoma school

Princeton University announced it’s dropping Woodrow Wilson from the name of its School of Public and International Affairs.

Wilson served as Princeton president until 1910, four years before becoming US president. He is also responsible for introducing segregation to the federal government.

So exacting were his demands, a Black postal worker who couldn’t be separated from his white colleagues had to work in a cage, thereby satisfying requirements of Wilson’s apartheid.

Wilson championed the KKK and derided Blacks as an “ignorant and inferior race.” This prejudice defined much of his public policy.

Princeton, which undoubtedly owes much to Wilson, dropped his name because of his racist legacy. They didn’t drop it because he is racist by our standards. They dropped it because he is racist by the standards of his day.

They dropped it because his advocacy for a racist United States still haunts us today.

If Princeton could come to that conclusion, Tacoma should do nothing less. This is the time for Tacoma Public Schools to drop the name of Wilson High School for a local leader, preferably a person of color.

Give Billy Frank, Jr. his due, or Charles Z. Smith, or Alberta J. Canada. Wilson’s time has passed.

This story was originally published July 1, 2020 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Name change: Racist Wilson unsuited for Tacoma school."