Facing Alumni Opposition, Proposal To Rename South Shore High School Dropped

CHICAGO (CBS) -- You've heard the question: what's in a name. If it's the name of your beloved high school, it's invaluable.

So when one community leader proposed renaming South Shore High School for a civil rights icon, the school's alums took action to block the change. CBS 2's Jim Williams tells all about it in this original report.

Craig May, Class of '77 and Shannon Washington, Class of '87, graduated a decade apart, but share a love of their high school.

"What South Shore means to me? It means life," Washington said.

Today, South Shore High School is in new building, but 75 years of very personal history has been made there.

"My mentor came from South Shore," Washington said. "My college recruiter was my former principal at South Shore, so my I had four generations of family to attend South Shore."

A short time ago, alums heard a Republican ward committeewoman proposed changing the name to the Reverend Willie T. Barrow High School.

The civil rights leader marched with Dr. King at Selma and fought for equality in Chicago.

Make no mistake: May and Washington and the other graduates say they admired Rev. Barrow, who died last year. But changing a name that's been on the school since 1940? That was non-negotiable.

"We think that legacy is very, very important as do a lot of South Shore graduates," May said.

And so the graduates organized and attended local school council meetings.

"We had that room absolutely packed," May said.

Late Tuesday, the South Shore LSC chairman told CBS 2 the woman who proposed the name change was withdrawing her request.

"I'm elated," Washington said. "I want to run a block if I didn't think I'd fall out before I make it."

CBS 2 left a message for the woman who proposed the name change and haven't received a return call. The South Shore graduates say all this has made them more determined to stay close to their alma mater and mentor the students who are there now.