Speakers at recent school board meetings are stepping up calls to change the name of James Blair Middle School – and they may have a more receptive audience this year.
Three out of four speakers at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Williamsburg-James City County School Board, where redistricting was approved, used their time to demand a name change for the school. Blair is named after the founder of William & Mary and first rector of Bruton Parish Church, who was a slaveholder.
In York County, several speakers have also called recently for a name change to Magruder Elementary School, named after a Confederate general.
“James Blair was part of the reason slavery was institutionalized in Virginia,” speaker Joseph Caterine said Tuesday.
The school board tabled a move to change the Blair name in May 2025, after a community poll of 1,724 people showed only 37% favored the move.