MYSTIC CHORDS OF MEMORY :

School may drop Lincoln holiday in favor of Cesar Chavez birthday (Jason Bono, May 05, 2002, Oakland Tribune)

Abraham Lincoln may have to forfeit his solo holiday to Cesar Chavez on the San Leandro school calendar.

Beginning next year, Lincoln's holiday may be dropped to honor labor leader Cesar Chavez on his birthday, March 31, pending school board approval. Several board members have already expressed support for the idea.

The San Leandro Teachers Association voted last month to make the change; 65 percent were in favor.

"The diversity of our community is growing, and it looks beautiful and we want to honor our Latino families," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the union. "And the other reason, which is very important for union members, is that Cesar Chavez was a labor leader."

The Brothers went to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in East Orange, NJ until it was 99% black, then moved on. Several years ago the name of our alma mater was changed to honor its most famous alumnae, The Whitney E. Houston Academy--from a hero of the Revolution to a crack-addled diva. Even that's better though than the East Orange school that was going to be renamed for Thurgood Marshall, who is at least a significant figure in U.S. History, but was instead named the Johnnie L. Cochran Academy.

Black Americans have a great heritage, one to be proud of and to honor, but neither Ms Houston nor Mr. Cochran should be held up as heroes. Moreover, blacks, of course, share in the heritage that we all honor when we name a school for Ben Franklin--there seems no good reason for ceasing to honor him. Similarly, Latinos can honor their heritage without discarding the memory of Abraham Lincoln, who, with all due respect to Cesar Chavez, is a pivotal figure in world history and central to an understanding of our shared history. This kind of tribalism must inevitably isolate minority communities and move them towards the margins of American society, which can not possibly be good for them or us.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 7, 2002 7:59 AM