John Hannigan School: Stop the renaming process.

It would be great to honor a man like Irwin Jacobs, but not at the expense of stripping the name from a building dedicated to honor John Hannigan.

Mr Hannigan came to our country as a young immigrant and went to work in the mills of our city. He became a champion of the labor movement, was employed in local mills as a mulespinner and later became President of the Mulespinners’ Union. He was elected a member of the Common Council of the City of New Bedford as a representative of Labor; he represented Ward Six in 1899 and 1900. Mr. Hannigan was elected to the board of Alderman from Ward Six in 1904, 1905, 1919, 1911 and 1912. He was Chairman of the Board of Aldermen and became acting Mayor of New Bedford in 1912.

During his political career, he promoted the construction of the Municipal Bathhouses, the building of a south end Skating Pond and a Baseball Field in Ward Six. Mr. Hannigan was elected Assessor-at-Large from December 1912 until his death on November 21, 1923.

The John Hannigan School was erected in 1919 and completed in 1921 at 33 Emery Street during Mayor Walter H. B. Remington’s administration. The school was named the Emery Street School and later dedicated to honor John Hannigan on Sunday, January 27, 1924.

Removal of the name of John Hannigan is a slap in the face to the people who grew up in that area both past and present. They are either immagrants themselves or whose family were immigrants who came to the South End like John Hannigan. An immigrant who came to our city to forge a new life for himself. In the past the area was filled with young immigrants from not only England, but France, Poland, Ireland and Portugal. Today the area is populated with immigrants from many Latin American and Caribbean countries. John Hannigan having been an immigrant himself truly represents the people who grew up in that area of the city and those who continue to live there today. His history and legacy shines a beacon of light that if you embrace education and work hard you can also be a successful citizen in the City of New Bedford.