Community Petition Leads to Renaming of Park in Pacific Beach – NBC 7 San Diego nbcsandiego.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nbcsandiego.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Residents in 1945 pushed back against William Payne’s hiring at Pacific Beach Junior High because they argued there were few Black students at the school.
Pacific Beach resident Paige Hernandez said the park’s name change reaffirms the historical presence of Black community members in Pacific Beach, and it sends a message that racism will not be tolerated, she said.
“It is a way for community members who might be Black and Brown, who live here, to heal and to see that community members do care about their existence here,” Hernandez said.
The 82,000-square foot park is located on Diamond Street. It is used by students at Pacific Beach Middle and by residents when school is not in session.
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San Diego Unified’s Junipero Serra High School will now be called Canyon Hills High School after students successfully petitioned for the name change, saying that the name of the founder of California’s mission system is offensive to indigenous peoples whose ancestors were subjected to its doctrine.
On Tuesday night, the San Diego Unified School Board unanimously voted for the name change and to change the school’s mascot from a conquistador to a rattlesnake, or a “Rattler.”
For the record:
12:04 AM, Mar. 10, 2021This article was corrected to reflect that Tierrasanta is referred to as “The Island in the Hills.”