My kids went to grade school at Annie Talent School.
It has been re-named, and now known as South Park Elementary School.
There is a long list of politically correct revisions of our history in the “re-naming” of everything from schools to mountains. The latest in our area is the “re-naming” of Harney Peak. Some of us don’t appreciate that.
The Governor of South Dakota has said he won’t resist the Federal Government arbitrarily making the change. No surprise there.
There is a much better option than “re-naming” landmarks. Let’s use the opportunity to educate our children (and uninformed adults) about our history. A monument could be placed on location, which provides accurate historical data… the good, the bad and the ugly. The fact that a landmark bears the name of someone who was part of our unpleasant past doesn’t mean we embrace them. We should also not “erase” select parts of our history for the sake of political correctness, we should learn from it. It would be healthy to acknowledge historical wrongs, and create an opportunity for a healthy discussion about right vs wrong.
For those landmarks YET TO BE renamed, let’s insist on the better option.
For Harney Peak, wouldn’t it be nice to erect a permanent plaque that explains some history. Who was Harney and what does history accurately record that he did? The plaque should also provide historical data on Black Elk, for whom the landmark is now named. It also should record the fact that the Federal Government arbitrarily “re-named” Harney Peak in an ongoing attempt to erase our history. I would be happy to help organize the effort
I will continue to use the names, Annie Talent School and Harney Peak.
We would do well to remember the words of Edmund Burke,
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
***Gordon Howie is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”
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