Atlanta school board to vote on new name for Grady Stadium

Grady Stadium in Atlanta could be renamed by the Atlanta school board. (JOHN SPINK/AJC FILE PHOTO)

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Grady Stadium in Atlanta could be renamed by the Atlanta school board. (JOHN SPINK/AJC FILE PHOTO)

Grady Stadium, like its neighboring high school, could soon have a new name.

The Atlanta Board of Education is scheduled to vote Monday on a recommendation to rename the high school football stadium in Midtown. The proposed new name is Eddie S. Henderson Stadium.

The board in December voted to change the name of Henry W. Grady High School to Midtown High School after months of discussion and a student vote.

UPDATE: APS approves name change for Grady stadium

Atlanta Public Schools officials want to distance the district from Grady, a managing editor of The Atlanta Constitution who died in 1889. Grady spoke about the supremacy of the white race while promoting his vision for a “New South.”

It’s part of a broader APS effort to remove names of those who espoused racist views from school buildings. The board also renamed Brown Middle School and is considering a new name for Forrest Hill Academy, an alternative school in southwest Atlanta.

A committee established last year by board Chairman Jason Esteves recommended the football stadium be renamed to honor Henderson, a former Atlanta principal, coach and athletic director. Henderson died in 2001, and the athletic field at the stadium already bears his name.