I’ve read with concern the recent effort of certain vocal people in town who are adamant about re-naming the Concord Middle School. My concern lies in the way this discussion has unfolded, with many of the people who support renaming the school calling others racist. It’s unfortunate when people on one side of a debate resort to unfounded accusations against the people who have a different opinion. As an example, an opinion piece in the April 12 edition of The Concord Bridge stated in its title that the “debate exposes Concord’s unconscious racial bias.” This statement labels the whole town as racist, and yet rests upon zero evidence. It’s also presumptuous of the author to think that she can identify other people’s unconscious thoughts but that the other people are apparently unaware.
In conversations with my fellow townspeople about this topic, most of them appear to be in favor of retaining the Concord Middle School name. It makes sense in a town where there is only one middle school to name it after the town, especially when no one seems to have ever heard of Ellen Garrison prior to this recent effort to re-name the school.
While politics has devolved at the national level into name-calling, I would hope that people on both sides of a local debate could be civil and respectful.
My vote is to retain the Concord Middle School name. It should resonate with everyone, especially since it’s not focused on delivering a political message.
Alan Cooke
Hugh Cargill Road
