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WHEREAS: Last year the School Committee decided to rename the Vassal Lane Upper School to honor Black Cantabridgian(s) rather than someone who enslaved others; and

WHEREAS: The Superintendent and Principal engaged the staff, students, and families at VLUS in a process to suggest potential names; and

WHEREAS: Students shared their thoughts about the qualities they wanted in an honoree, including someone who was a local leader, made a positive change, was a person of color, was inclusive; and

WHEREAS: Students presented numerous possibilities for school names without a specific recommendation; and

WHEREAS: Community members, particularly representatives from the Slave Legacy History Coalition and Cambridge Black History Project, reached out to the School Committee to suggest renaming the school after Darby Vassall; and

WHEREAS: After securing his liberty from enslavement with the Vassal family, Mr. Darby Vassall went on to be a civil rights and educational justice leader, petitioning the state legislature for funding to educate Black children; and

WHEREAS: Mr. Darby Vassall was outspoken about human rights his entire life, including as a six-year-old declining unpaid work for General George Washington and through his work founding the African Society and with the New England Anti-Slavery Society; and

WHEREAS: Mr. Darby Vassall’s family chose to keep the surname from their enslavers, but added an “L” to it; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That the Vassal Lane Upper School be renamed the Darby Vassall Upper School; and be it further

RESOLVED: That students at the school will learn about Mr. Darby Vassall’s life and work; and be it further

RESOLVED: That formal copies of this resolution be prepared by the Executive Secretary to the School Committee to be presented to the Slave Legacy History Coalition and to be displayed in the new Darby Vassall Upper School building.