After much controversy, a New Jersey township council has changed its mind and won’t rename the town’s former high school — currently called the John F. Kennedy Center — after President Barack Obama.
At an Aug. 7 meeting, the Willingboro Township Council voted 3-1 to change the name to the Barack Obama Center.
However, even though it’s a predominantly middle-class black community, many protested, Philly.com reports. They objections had little to do with Obama, but instead, they didn’t want to see JFK’s name come down.
And on Tuesday night, the council unanimously voted to keep JFK’s name.
“I was 5 when Kennedy came to Willingboro Plaza in 1960,” Christine Getz-Alfinito, who graduated from JFK with the Class of 1973 and still lives in Willingboro, told Philly.com before the meeting. “They built this in ’66, and named it after Kennedy after he was assassinated. He died for this country.”
Mayor Eddie Campbell told those in attendance that the second vote on the name change means it’s now a dead issue, promising if any action is considered in the future, they’ll use a public forum to gather input before a vote is taken.
“The people have spoken, and we believe in government by the people,” he said.Via Philly.com
