Nancy Duckett (Roberts)

I totally agree with Harvey.  Roger Derthick High School is the best choice!

Tom Ezell

Great idea Harvey. I have added my name to the list of those supporting Roger Derthick High School as the new name.

Claire Brown (Kantar)

Thanks, Harvey, for letting us know about the meeting and the PERFECT name suggestion.  I just wrote a note to the school board with a long justification.

Claire

Harvey Zion

The Atlanta School Board Naming Committee has a cut off date of Friday August 7 to submit a name change suggestion for Grady H.S. Please do so by this date to have your voice heard.

Thanks to all the alumni who suggested Roger Derthick. I think we have an up hill battlle, but we tried

Everyone stay healthy.

Harvey

Janie Friedman (Bitterman)

I totally with you Harvey. Roger Derthick High School is an excellent choice!!!!

Carolyn Johnson (Faglier)

In response to Rick Kondy I completely agree with you that our memories we will keep and our school will Always be Henry Grady. They can't just erase our wonderful years at Grady . They are obviously going to change the name. I attended the virtual meeting in July of the Board and most calls were for changing it. Two ladies/alumni from the class of 1964 made good points to no avail. No comment was made regarding either of their comments/opinions. One even quoted words from Henry Grady's speech after the Civil War. He had obviously changed his beliefs regarding slavery. Too little too late for today's world. Changing the name is troubling to me because the name and the school are sewn tightly and beautifully together into the fabric of our lives as teenagers. That is hard to let go of. It is a big deal to me, right or wrong. We have all suffered loss in our lives. This feels like a loss to me. 

Rupert Fike

I'm terribly sentimental about Grady - such great years! - plus our two daughters were Grady grads in the 90s so I got a whole 'nother immersion into Grady PTA, students and faculty. Since then I've led writing workshops at Grady and served as the judge for the literary magazine, The Knight's Bard. Even got to see Mr Derthick on the gym stage one last time in 1997 at the 50th anniversary of Grady. He was frail but still powerful.

All that said, I support the name change if the current students want it. It just seems wrong to tell teenage students that they have to attend a school named after someone who said they were an inferior race. Of course we didn't know that during our time, but now we do. It's not fake news - Grady's papers are over at the Emory library. I think we have to put aside our own sentimentality in favor of the wishes of the current students. 

Brita Molkner (Levy)

I am attached to the name, Grady, and I realize that the name is going to be changed. Thank you, Harvey Zion for putting in the time and effort to be part of this change and for suggesting Roger Derthick, whose memory is very dear to me. That being said, after much thought and careful consideration,  I realized that I think the feelings of the families and the students who are there today should be paramount.  I appreciate Rupert's sensitivity to them and I can certainly understand their wanting a name change.  

Kerry Landis

Thanks for keeping us informed Harvey!  Great idea. Posted my choice yesterday. 

Claire Brown (Kantar)

Rupert and Brita, we agree that the name will be changed.  The question now is to what?  The names being suggested are fine people, but they had nothing to do with Grady. Harvey and the rest of us are only suggesting our principal who gave his love to Grady for 16 years and all of us loved him right back.  Unless Rupert, who has been connected with the school a lot longer than the rest of us knows a principal that is more deserving, I hope Rupert and Brita are at least casting votes for Roger Derthick.

Claire Brown (Kantar)

Additionally, those of you who live in the Atlanta area---if you could pass the word on to people you know in other classes, maybe we could get a lot of votes in before Friday.

Harvey Zion

Brita and Rupert. You are correct Grady H.S. will have a name change. Some of the suggestions yesterday at the zoom meeting were: Midtown H.S., Piedmont H.S., and Morningside H.S.--- Midtown HS, Piedmont HS, and Morningside HS never changed a life. Roger Derthick changed lives!

Please submit your choice for a name change by Friday Aug 7th

Thanks,

Harvey

Rupert Fike

Yes, I'd love for Mr. Roger Derthick to be honored in this way! I can't think of anyone associated with Grady who has brought as much spirit and dedication to the school as he did. Like hand-painting his old Chevy red and grey for the football season :) - there was a photo of this in one of my sister's Orators, late 50s.

And apologies for posting off-topic on this thread.

Saul Furstein

Re Henry Grady name change

Mr. Henry Grady should be judged on the totality of his actions. As William Hedgepeth's op ed informs us, Henry Grady is recognized as a positive force for civil rights. Rummaging through the archives of a lifetime of writing and finding some bad statements may render Mr. Grady imperfect, but those statements do not make him a racist. Putting Mr. Grady and the Klan in the same group is a cognitive error.
It feels like there is a rush to purge statues and building names that memorialize imperfect people. If that happens, our children, grandchildren, and future generations will not be aware of the lessons of history.
Let's be wary of memes that divide us. 

Marian Pitner (Ashley)

You are so right. I learned of this proposed name change back during the impeachment when I was researching famous orators for a letter I was writing Adam Schiff, who certainly is a modern day orator.  I wrote the school board immediately citing the things you have enumerated here.  Now, George Washington, a real hero, is under scrutiny.  There seems to be no end to this movement to change or delete American history.  I'm very concerned for our republic

Sam Peppas

Thanks from me, too, Harvey.  Went on and let them know that I was against any name change but if they felt compelled to change the name, then honoring Roger Derthick would be the way to go.  Sadly, I'm not holding my breath...

Michael Cohen

I think naming the school after Roger Derthick is a great idea if the name has to be changed.  He is well known by thousands of alumni and their families but it may take an educational effort to teach the current students that he is more than just a name on a plaque in the foyer.

Brita Molkner (Levy)

Harvey, I think it would be great to have Roger Derthick honored by naming the school after him.  He promoted school spirit and I have warm memories of him.  The other names that you mentioned don't have meaning.

Maxine Klein (Jacobs)

I would love to see the name changed to Roger Derthick.  For some of you there were 5 Klein kids that graduated from Grady from 1962 - 1975.  He was an incredible individual and an awesome Principal. I also had cousins who graduated earlier and they too had Mr. Derthick.  Hope everyone is staying safe, however they can and certainly would have loved to see a get together for the 55th year but it wasn't meant to be. If at some point you find yourself in the Orlando area, look me up and give me a call. I try to get to Atlanta a few times a year but I don't see that happening just yet. Stay in touch the best way you can and look forward to seeing y'all sometime soon!!!

Terrie Cohen (Bryan)

Harvey thank you for taking part in Changing the  Roger Derthick  is  quite appropriate 

Andy Polan

Alvin Townley Jr

Andy,, 

I think you've mentioned this in the past..  I'll try to make it this year if possible.  Enjoy Thanksgiving.

Alvin

Richard Bressler

it's FIVE PACES

John Wall

Or as long time patrons say:  5P

Maxine Klein (Jacobs)

I am sending this message later than I had intended but wanted to be sure I send my sincere condolences to Andy's family. We were acquaintences at Grady and every now and then gave him a ride home from the AJCC. He was one of a kind and will always be remembered.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and those closest to him as well as the Class of '65.