3 Finalists Chosen For Next Columbus School Name

MEDFORD, MA — The Advisory Committee to rename Columbus Elementary School has chosen three finalists to be considered by the School Committee.

The finalists are Belinda Sutton, a former slave at the Royall House in Medford, who successfully petitioned the state legislature for a pension from the estate of her enslaver; Jean Barry-Sutherland, a longtime teacher and former principal of the Columbus School who died in 2016; and Missituk, the Native American name for the Mystic River.

Belinda Sutton received 12 votes from the Advisory Committee, followed by Barry-Sutherland with seven and Missituk with two, the Medford Transcript reported.

"[Sutton's] eloquent petition is among the earliest narratives by an African American woman, considered by many to have been the first call for reparations for American slavery," the Royall House wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Barry-Sutherland has also been favored for the new name, with many in the community remembering her as a dedicated educator who had a lasting impact on her students. Last month, a member of the Advisory Committee resigned after facing backlash for his comments questioning Barry-Sutherland's treatment of students of color.

"I can't believe, all that Jean Barry did in this city, that I'm hearing what I'm hearing," Gwendolyn Blackburn, a longtime colleague of Barry-Sutherland's, said at a City Council meeting May 18.

The finalists have been sent to the School Committee, which could vote on the next name as soon as June 7.