New Mercer St. school will be named after Windsor's first black alderman
The new school replacing Giles Campus French Immersion on Mercer Street will be named after Windsor's first black alderman, James L. Dunn.
That's after a unanimous vote at Tuesday evening's public school board trustee meeting, which saw a naming committee put three other recommendations forward — Ambassador Public School, Ensemble Public School and Heritage Public School.
Board trustee Sarah Cipkar said seven community members delivered a presentation to council, adding that all but one expressed their support to name the school after James L. Dunn.
"I think there was a lot of support from a majority of the trustees to name the school after James L. Dunn. There was a few concerns about the process and whether or not this [naming] committee did do all the work necessary to yield the best results," she said.
"Ultimately, we did come to the conclusion that it was the case and it was unanimously supported."
She added the best part about the meeting was recalling Dunn's life and legacy.
"He lived in the neighbourhood where this new school will be. He was the first black trustee. He was the first black city councillor," she said, adding that the Mercer Street school will now be the only one in the public board "named after an African-Canadian."
"To honour somebody who made such significant contributions toward desegregation and toward advocacy for the African-Canadian community. I just feel really proud that we unanimously supported to honour his legacy today."
