Plans to rename an Illinois school after Barack Obama have run into a protest from local members of the Latino community who are angry about the former president’s record on the issue of deportation.
Leaders and members of the Waukegan Latino community are pushing back against a local school board’s proposal to rename the city’s Thomas Jefferson middle school, according to WGN Chicago.
Waukegan is a city just north of Chicago with a population that is more than 50% Latino.
The move to change the school’s name stems from the fact that Jefferson was a slave owner, and echoes similar proposals across the country in the wake of a racial reckoning caused by Black Lives Matter protests. Opposition to naming this school after Obama stems from the deportation of 5 million people during his presidency, most of whom were Latino.
“Today, I want to urge the board to drop the names of Barack and Michelle Obama from consideration,” Oscar Arias, a graduate of Waukegan public schools and city resident, told the city’s school board Tuesday night. “Barack Obama’s presidency is filled with hostility against the immigrant community.”