Berkeley’s difficulty in coming to a decision on the emotionally
charged issue was summed up by long-time Berkeley political and
environmental activist Elliot Cohen, who said he was torn on what to do
about the proposed name change from the slaveowning father of American
democracy to a stately California tree. “I like trees,” Cohen told
board members. “I don’t like slavery. I like Jefferson.” He put up his
hands in a gesture of uncertainty.

Supporters of the name change in attendance at the board meeting appeared to outnumber opponents by a large margin.

During the public presentations, each side accused the other side of engaging in tactics of intimidation.

Carrie
Adams, a white Jefferson parent and a name-change opponent, said that
she had not participated in much of the two-year name-change
discussions at Jefferson because “I felt intimidated. I have been held
emotionally hostage, and I’m not the only one who feels this way.” She
said that Jefferson school community members who did not support the
name change were accused of racism, and “I am not a racist. I abhor
slavery. But anyone who can look 200 years in the past and pass
judgment, it’s like armchair quarterbacking. When do we move on?”
Calling the name-change campaign “a disaster,” Adams said that “it has
pulled apart something that was together.”

That was
countered by Maggie Riddle, a white Jefferson teacher and a name-change
proponent, who said that she “felt intimidated as a teacher advocate
for this change. Two weeks ago in these same chambers, I was called an
emotional terrorist. Supporters of the name change have received
threatening e-mails and veiled threats. After I announced my support
for the name change, many of my fellow teachers stopped talking to me.”
Riddle added that “if anybody has been the victim of emotional
terrorism and intimidation in this country, it’s been the
African-American and the Native American community.”
- posted by AnnaZ @ 8:11 PM