The Alexandria City School Board on Thursday unanimously voted on new names for T.C. Williams High School and Matthew Maury Elementary School, part of an effort to untangle the schools from Alexandria’s racist past and the result of a months-long process that involved educational programs and community input. The new names — Alexandria City High School and Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, respectively — will take effect on July 1.

The high school previously honored Thomas Chambliss Williams, Alexandria’s former school superintendent who was a staunch segregationist in the 1950s, claiming that students learned differently based on their race. The elementary school was named after Matthew Maury, an oceanographer who fought for the Confederate army and sought the creation of a colony in Mexico that would continue slavery.

The elementary school’s new name honors the late school teacher Naomi Brooks, a Black woman who attended segregated schools before graduating from college, the first in her family with that accomplishment.

T.C. Williams, the largest high school in Virginia, is known for its role in the 2000 popular film Remember the Titans. The movie, starring Denzel Washington, depicts the school’s football team that integrated in 1971 and won the state championship. But in recent years, members of that iconic team voiced their support for the name change.

Last summer, ACPS launched the Identity Project to provide more context about the racist legacy of the schools’ namesakes, and after opening a poll to the public, narrowed nearly 15,000 name submissions to three top contenders.

“Many ACPS schools were named during a time in our city and our country when vastly different attitudes and beliefs guided our decisions. In 2020, a spotlight has shone on the many inequities in today’s society, and a new determination to right the wrongs of history has swept the nation,” the school system wrote on the Identity Project’s website. “Today, ACPS proudly embraces students from more than 145 countries speaking 132 different languages. Changing a school name is a symbolic step. However, the ultimate goal puts racial equity at the heart of every decision that is made.”

The name changes will cost an estimated $325,000 for the high school and $5,000 for the elementary school.