The Springfield Public School district is asking for the public’s input regarding renaming the Homer Street School.
The idea is to name it after former State Rep. Benjamin Swan.
“He is a giant, a legend and I would say the father of the civil rights movement in Springfield,” said State Rep. Bud L. Williams.
A $95 million project is set to replace and consolidate the Homer Street and DeBerry schools. The new school is expected to open in 2023.
DeBerry is set to keep its name, which honors The Rev. William DeBerry, a Springfield native and civil rights leader. Williams, however, hopes Swan’s name will replace the Homer Street School name.
“We feel it is a fitting honor to have his name etched on a building where children will see it for generations to come,” Williams said. “There are no words that do justice to what he means to this community. His work speaks for itself.”
The district highlighted that Swan graduated from the former Technical High School, served in several roles with the Springfield branch of the NAACP and became the Western Massachusetts coordinator of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
“He also organized the Springfield chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality and helped organize and lead a protest that grew out of an incendiary police incident that occurred at a lounge in Winchester (now Mason) Square. In 1965, Swan marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma,” the release states.
The district has since released a public survey regarding the name.
“With the exciting promise of a brand-new school building for Homer Street School, the School Committee is seeking public opinion of its initiative to rename the school in honor of State Representative Benjamin Swan. Please share with us your opinion of our plans to honor State Rep. Benjamin Swan,” the survey reads.
The survey asks for information regarding your relation to the school or city, your opinion and a space for additional comments.
The survey will be open through Oct. 29, the district said.
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