Will Forkner elementary become Tatarian elementary? Fresno community seeks to rename school

Fresno’s Forkner Elementary School could soon be known as H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School.

Fresno Unified trustees could vote on the name change as soon as Oct. 13.

Additionally, FUSD trustees on Oct. 13 will also examine establishing a committee to develop a permanent formal policy for changing school names, Fresno Unified Chief of Staff David Chavez told the Education Lab. No such policy currently exists.

“We will work on committee member recommendations over the next few weeks,” Chavez said.

The decision came during Wednesday’s school board meeting after community members spoke before the board.

Trustees said Forkner’s name should be removed from the school, given his legacy of racism and redlining in Fresno. Forkner’s racist history was brought to light recently by local author and journalist Mark Arax.

Trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas said she supports creating a policy and said the renaming of Forkner is an opportunity for the board to establish a unified process for renaming schools since there is currently no process in place.

“A committee comprised of members from the community that are residents of Fresno unified that would come together and advise on what that policy should look like,” Jonasson Rosas said.

Other trustees like Claudia Cazares, Keisha Thomas, and Veva Islas did not feel the board should wait to change this name in particular.

“Given the history of this name, I don’t see why we need to wait. I don’t see why there needs to be a process for this school,” Cazares said.

Thomas agreed there should be a process for renaming schools. However, she said that process should be created later, and the board should not delay removing Forkner’s name.

“If we don’t have a lot of fight back or kickback for changing the school, I don’t think a committee is necessary for this particular topic,” Thomas said.

Board President Valerie Davis strongly advocated for creating a policy instead of only an action item to change the name immediately because she doesn’t want a “knee-jerk” reaction from the community.

Davis pointed to the lesson learned when the board chose to change the Fresno High Mascot. Davis said the process was lengthy, and there are still alumni that are unhappy with the change.

“We need to follow through on policy and procedures and to make sure we have legal cover because we’re not going to do everything that the community wants,” Davis said.

Davis said it was important for the board to create a policy to hold this board and future boards accountable.

Forkner is mostly known for developing Fig Garden, which spanned 12,000 acres. About 120 miles of road was created, about 600,000 fig trees and 60,000 ornamental trees were planted.

“I’ve written about Forkner and his legacy. Forkner is one of the most consequential racists in the history books today,” Arax said.

Arax has researched Forkner extensively and wrote about him in his latest book, The Dreamt Land, where he chronicles the racist past of Forkner’s developments and discrimination against Armenians and communities of color.

This story was originally published September 12, 2021 at 6:54 AM with the headline "Will Forkner elementary become Tatarian elementary? Fresno community seeks to rename school."