Grady renaming committee unanimously votes to recommend calling school 'Midtown' high

ATLANTA - Nine months after the formation of a renaming committee, Grady High School is closer than ever to having a new name. If approved, students can say they played a role in determining it.

Student survey results are in. Most students currently attending Grady High want to call the school Midtown High School.

It took less than 20 minutes for the name-changing committee to vote to recommend the student’s choice Tuesday.

The name change effort began with demands to remove the name of Henry Grady, the 19th century Atlanta newspaper editor who advocated for a New South after the Civil War but also campaigned against equality for freed slaves.

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Many in the community took issue with the Atlanta school board’s leading name choice of well-known African-American journalist Ida B. Wells.

Those opposing it, such as Audrea Rease and Wells’ own descendant, said the popular high school in the middle of Atlanta should have a name with ties to the city.

Originally, the board was to vote on the final name change on November 2, but students said they should have a say in the new name.

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The board gave them three options; Piedmont, Ida B. Wells, and Midtown high school.

Less than half of the student body participated in the survey-- exactly 695 students. Of those, 61.4% voted for Midtown, 19.8% voted for Ida B. Wells, and 18.8% voted in favor of Piedmont high.

The students have spoken, the committee listened, and “Grady High” could be a thing of the past very as early as Monday, December 7, during the scheduled school board meeting.

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