A Guide to Every Person Whose Name Could be Removed from D.C. Buildings or Sites, from the Famous to the Forgotten

A D.C. government committee caused quite a stir this week when it released a report calling for the city to reassess the many historical figures whose names grace Washington’s public properties.

The most controversial recommendation was deleted the same day it was published: that D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) urge federal authorities to “remove, relocate, or contextualize” eight federal monuments, including the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. (D.C.’s nonvoting member of Congress says the idea was to add a plaque to those sites explaining that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson enslaved people, not to move the sites or take them down.)

But the bulk of the report deals with local Washington — the parks and playgrounds, schools and shelters where residents study, work, live and play every day. The writers of the report recommended that dozens of people’s names be removed from these buildings based on several criteria, including whether they enslaved people, created laws that oppressed women and minorities, or committed acts that would violate D.C. human rights law.

Some of the targeted namesakes are famous, including seven U.S. presidents, national anthem author Francis Scott Key, Declaration of Independence signer Benjamin Franklin and inventor Alexander Graham Bell.

Some you may never have heard of. Take, for instance, the Sharpe school building in Ward 4. It’s named for C. Melvin Sharpe, one of the defendants on the wrong side of Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision that resulted in the desegregation of public schools nationwide. Or West Education Campus. It’s named for Joseph Rodman West, a general who reportedly ordered the murder of a peace-seeking Native American chief.

Ultimately, it will be up to the school communities and the D.C. Council to judge whether any of these names should be changed. You can read about all of them below. The Washington Post could not determine why the committee decided to include four people on this list. (D.C. officials have not responded to a request for further explanation of the choices). Those names are marked with asterisks below. Any readers and historians who have more information on why these four made the list, please email the reporter at julie.zauzmer@washpost.com.