San Rafael's Dixie School District Votes to Change Name Tied to Confederacy

The Dixie School District board voted Tuesday night to change the name of the 150-year-old district after critics linked it to the Confederacy and slavery.

Trustees voted 3-1, with one abstention, to change both the name of the Marin County district and the name of its elementary school by Aug. 22, when classes resume.

However, the board didn’t choose a new name. A committee made up of parents, other community members and district staff will be set up to solicit and evaluate suggestions from the public.

“It’s a bigger issue than this little district,” said Kerry Peirson of Mill Valley, who first proposed the name should be changed 22 years ago. “Now perhaps they can move forward and it will be better for the kids and the whole environment. I wish it was done with more enthusiasm but I’m glad it’s done.”

The board rejected some 15 names in February when it voted against a name change on grounds that more community input was needed.

The cost of the name change, such as replacing signs, was estimated at nearly $40,000, but the Marin Community Foundation pledged to cover it.

Board trustee Marnie Glickman, who fought for the change, said it’s an opportunity to come together for students.

“We can teach them about being compassionate and making amends and there’s a tremendous amount of excitement about what’s the best new name for our district,” Glickman said.

Home and school clubs, similar to PTA’s, will hold brainstorming events and there will be on online outreach effort for new name submissions.

The advisory committee of four parents, four non-parents, two staff and one alumnus will select the best three to five names from those proposed and submit them for board vote before school starts this fall, according to Glickman.

Dixie is a nickname for the southern U.S. states that formed the pro-slavery Confederacy in 1860, sparking the Civil War. The legacy of the Confederacy prompts political, legal and cultural conflicts to this day.

Those who support changing the name say the district was named Dixie by James Miller, the school founder, on a dare by Confederate sympathizers. Those who oppose the change say the school system was named for Mary Dixie, a Miwok Indian woman that Miller knew in the 1840s.

The name-change issue has generated heated debate in San Rafael, an overwhelmingly white city of 59,000 people, with some insisting the Dixie name is racially insensitive while others complain the proposed change is political correctness run amok.

Both sides spoke out during Tuesday night’s meeting, held at district headquarters where there was standing room only.

“You know Dixie is a racist name, so change it,” said Bali Simon, a fifth-grader at Dixie Elementary School. “I’m hoping I can go back to school next fall proud of our new district name.”

An opponent of the name change, Mette Nygard, said the “ugly insinuations” tarnished Miller’s reputation.

“The community is so far removed from the confederacy that it’s a ridiculous assertion,” Nygard said.

However, she was interrupted by demonstrators chanting “Dixie must go!” Critics of the current name also brought signs into the room that said “say no to racism.”

Some of the proposed names that were previously rejected by the board included “Marie Dixie Elementary School District” and “Skywalker Elementary School District.”

KQED’s Julia McEvoy contributed to this report.