Names of Woodrow Wilson, Columbus removed at 2 more NJ schools

Trenton public schools is the latest organization to give Christopher Columbus and Woodrow Wilson the boot from their buildings.

The renaming process starts in Trenton on Monday with a meeting at the Ellis Auditorium located at 108 North Clinton Ave. starting at 6 p.m. Residents may then download an entry from the district website and submit suggestions by March 24.

Entries must be "known to, and significant to, the people of the district," and the names of living persons should be avoided unless circumstances warrant.

The Board of Education will review the entries and determine three to five finalists, which will be voted on at the board's April meeting. The new names will take effect in July.

Wilson, who served as the president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey and president of the United States, also had a racist past. Wilson re-segregated federal offices as president and had a White House screening of a film portraying the Ku Klux Klan as heroes, among other transgressions.

His name has been removed from Camden High School plus buildings on the campuses of Princeton University, Rider University and Monmouth University. Gov. Phil Murphy stopped using his desk in his office during his first term.

New Brunswick and Clifton have resisted calls to change the names of schools that bear Wilson's name.

Rider University's newly renamed Alumni House after Woodrow Wilson's name was removed. (Rider University)

Christopher Columbus' name has been removed from schools and his has been statue taken down after a closer look at his history.

A statue of the explorer was removed from a Trenton park named after him. In Newark, a statue of Harriet Tubman will take his place.

Covered Christopher Columbus statue in Trenton's Columbus Park (Brian McCarthy)

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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Best coffee shops & cafes near NJ beaches

When it comes to food, New Jersey is known for many things such as pizza and pork roll. Don't count us out when it comes to coffee.

With all the hustle and bustle involved in the average New Jersey resident's day, coffee is essential. It doesn't matter whether you're living in the cities of North Jersey or the vacation spots at the shore.

In fact, as the former owner of two Jersey shore coffee houses, Coffee Dot Comedy in Sea Isle City and the Daily Grind in Ocean Grove, I know firsthand how much people at the Jersey shore love their coffee.

With respect to that, I asked my social media following where the best coffee houses at the Jersey Shore were, especially since my two places no longer exist.

Below is what they came up with. (And see this other article for their coffee shop and cafe recommendations for Central Jersey.)