Should the Kennedy Center in Willingboro be renamed for President Obama?

As our 44th President nears the end of his administration, there will be platitudes – as well as admonishments over the previous 8 years.

One item in particular has folks scratching their heads – and it has to do with the renaming of a community center from one president to the current one.

According to the Burlington County Times, the Kennedy Center, which used to house a high school, is now a community center.

I guess it’s appropriate that a community center be named after a former community organizer – but do you feel it’s appropriate to change the name of the center from one president to a sitting president?

According to the report, Councilman Chris Walker had this to say:

“We can take a bold step by renaming the center."

As he stood near construction at the center Wednesday, Walker said with the improvements and the community’s sense of pride, he “thought this would be the most opportune time to be about change and paying homage to President Obama.”

Councilman Darvis Holley added this:

“I happen to idolize Barack Obama,” Holley said.

On Wednesday, he said it was a “privilege” to be able to vote to change the center’s name.

“For me, it was an easy decision. This is a president who is breaking barriers nationally,” Holley said.

Not there aren’t other institutions named after the President.

A partial list, according to Wikipedia, shows a number of them here in New Jersey.

New Jersey
• Barack Obama Academy – Plainfield, New Jersey – Plainfield Academy for Academic & Civic Development renamed to Barack Obama Academy.[7]
• Barack Obama Green Charter High School – Plainfield, New Jersey – Charter high school scheduled to open in September 2010.[8][dated info

Among the list of name changes, nothing here points to substituting one president’s name for the current one.

So while you may not agree with his politics, do you feel it’s appropriate to substitute the name of the Kennedy Center in Willingboro to that of President Obama?