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Some Latinos in an Illinois community are pushing back against a local school boards consideration to rename a school after former President Obama due to his record on deportation, according to ABC Chicago.

The Waukegan Board of Education is deliberating what to rename the citys Thomas Jefferson Middle School. The push to change the schools name stems from the fact the third president was a slave owner. The board is expected to officially decide whether to rename the school in the coming weeks.

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A leading contender for a new name is Barack and Michelle Obama Middle School. But on Tuesday as the board held a meeting and heard comments from the public, many Latinos were not pleased with the suggestion and protested outside the meeting.

From the time Barack Obama became President until 2017 when he left, he today is still the highest ranking president with deportations in our nation, Julie Contreras, an activist who helps run shelters for undocumented children at the U.S.-Mexico border and Waukegan resident, said, according to ABC Chicago.

If youre removing the name of Thomas Jefferson - one oppressor - the name of Obama is another oppressor and our families do not want to see that name, Contreras said.

School officials are also looking at renaming Daniel Webster Middle school, as the former senator and school's namesake supported slavery, according to ABC Chicago.

Waukegan is just north of Chicago and has a population that is more than 50 percent Latino. A final decision on the new name is still at least a month away, according to WGN. Another popular name change suggestion is Civil Rights icon John Lewis.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, former President Obama deported more than 5 million people during his presidency, compared to 12 million deported under former President Clinton and 10 million under former President George W. Bush.

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Latino activists protest renaming school after the Obamas | TheHill - The Hill

Former President Obama brushed off a question in a recent video asking him to rap, citing Sasha and Malias disapproval of his past attempts to do so.

Obama made the remark in a video he posted to Instagram this weekend of him answering questions about the podcast he hosts alongside Bruce Springsteen, dubbed Renegades: Born in the USA.

Among the questions he answered was one from Complex magazine asking the former president -- who has been vocal in the past about his affinity for rap heavyweights like Drake, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar -- if there was one verse he could recite by heart.

First of all, Complex, you do not want to hear me rap, the former president said in response. When I have tried to rap, my daughters have rolled their eyes, covered their ears. They think its painful. They even think my dancing is better than my rapping.

But Obama did go on to disclose one track by Jay-Z that he said he listened to often when he ran for president.

Now, having said that, Ive mentioned a couple of songs that even when I was running for president came up a lot on my iPod. One of them was My 1st Song by Jay-Z, which is a song that I love because it talks about the struggle of just trying to make it, he said.

And sometimes you have to resort to false bravado and hustle and tamping down your insecurities and when I was running for president, obviously, at that point I didnt know whether I was gonna make it, he continued.

He then points to a bar in the track, Treat my first as my last and my last as my first and my thirst is the same as when I came.

And I actually kept on listening to that song during the presidency because it was a reminder thateven when you do make ithaving a little bit of that sense of still being hungry, still having to work hard, still having to prove something, thats what keeps propelling you forward, he said.

But Im still not gonna rap it, he added.

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Obama says his daughters have 'covered their ears' when he raps: 'They think it's painful' | TheHill - The Hill

A majority of residents in Waukegan say they don't want the district's Thomas Jefferson Middle School to keep its name. But they haven't yet been able to agree on someone else to name the school after.

One leading contender is Barack and Michelle Obama Middle School. For some in the community, though, that alternative doesn't work either.

"I want to urge the school board to drop the names of Barack and Michelle Obama from consideration," said Oscar Arias, a Waukegan native and graduate of the district's schools. "Barack Obama's presidency was filled with hostility against the immigrant community."

The other two options before the community are John Lewis Middle School and Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez Middle School. School officials are also aiming to rename Daniel Webster Middle School.

Latinos make up a majority of the student body

Those who oppose naming the school after the Obamas said the former President's actions had personally affected families in Waukegan, and the name would conjure up painful memories for some in the community.

She continued, "If you're removing the name of Thomas Jefferson, one oppressor, the name of Obama is another oppressor. And our families do not want to see that name."

Some community members who spoke at the meeting recommended that the board instead select John Lewis.

"As a famous congressman and civil rights activist who marched alongside Dr. King, John Lewis is a much better representation for the community and truly embodies the progressive and multicultural spirit of Waukegan," said Arias.

Wygenia Brisco said that as an African American, she supported naming the school for the late civil rights icon, too.

"I think if we take a look at what he stood for, as far as the true meaning of what he stood for, to me it's appropriate to name the school after him," she said.

The board will vote on the name next month

The Waukegan board of education began to consider name changes for two district schools after George Floyd's death while under arrest by Minnesota police last year, says board president Brandon Ewing.

Committees for each school solicited new name suggestions from the community and eventually narrowed a list of 300 names down to six. Students, parents and staff at the schools voted on those options and narrowed it down to three choices.

The three proposed namesakes for Daniel Webster Middle School are Edith Smith, who fought to desegregate Waukegan schools; Katherine Johnson, the famed NASA mathematician; and Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space.

The Waukegan board of education will officially decide whether to rename the two middle schools at its next meeting on April 13. If it chooses to move forward, the board will then vote on the proposed options and the first moniker to receive four votes will be the new name, said Ewing.

"Even though there's some differences with one of the names, I think the community should be proud of the work that was done and the thought and care that went into this process," Ewing said.

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Latinx activists in an Illinois town oppose renaming Thomas Jefferson Middle School after the Obamas - CNN

Fox News hostRachel Campos-Duffy on Thursday suggested that former first lady Michelle Obama was responsible for identity politics infiltrating an increasingly "woke" U.S. military.

"The left's dangerous ideology continues its slow creep into all facets of Amerian life,"Campos-Duffy said on"Fox News Primetime.""Critical race theory and gender ideology have infected nearly every institution in America."

"The last vestige of the pro-American meritocracy still standing was the U.S. military," she continued."From the progressive perspective, the military was too masculine, had way too many Republicansand a dangerous nack ofturning minorities into patriotic,self-reliant conservatives. This could not stand."

From there, Campos-Duffy suggestedthat Obama put into motion "a stealth takeover" of thearmed services after shemade military families a top priority. Obama is a private citizen, and her husband no longer holds elected office.

"Michelle Obama's decision to make military spouses her top initiative as first lady was the first clue that they had their sights set on the U.S. armed forces," Campos-Duffy said. "By Obama's second term, a stealth takeover of top military brass was underway. Officers who were aligned were promoted. A general who obeyed and advanced the woke progressive agenda could expect a lucrative afterlife on corporate boardsalready populated by the Obama-Clinton world."

Campos-Duffy then called out the continued "slippery slope toward military wokedom" under the Biden administration by pointing toa reading list provided to soldiers that included books like "How to Be an Antiracist,""Stamped From the Beginning" and "White Rage."

"Now this isn't a Silicon Valley book clubthis is our military," she said. "But if our leaders in the Department of Defense don't stand up and stop this rising tide of wokeness,before long, we won't be able to tell the difference."

Campos-Duffy previouslysuggested in February that Obama had the power to reopen Chicago schools "with one little tweet" but had "done nothing."

You can watch the full clip below via Fox News:

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Fox News host suggests Michelle Obama is responsible for identity politics infiltrating the military - Salon

As the Obamas latest production hits Netflix, Big Issue TV editor Adrian Lobb asks: Is there anything that can stop the new golden age of global cultural players filling up our screens?

When Michelle and Barack Obama signed on the dotted line for a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with Netflix back in 2018, they joined a select and exclusive entertainment community.

These days, they stand alongside Oprah Winfrey (Apple), Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Amazon Prime), podcaster Joe Rogan (Spotify), Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy, David Benioff and DB Weiss, plus newcomers Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (all Netflix) as the select few global players able to launch their creative visions into the public consciousness with few barriers.

What Americas former first couple bring to Netflix is clear. The Obamas are a popular, powerful, respected and socially conscious global brand, capable of leading the conversation across the planet. When the Obamas speak, the world listens. So when they make a television show, the world will watch. Right? Thats the unarguable logic behind the deal.

The power this affords them is immense. Who else is allowed to produce such a breadth of television and film, across all genres? None, so far, among the list of big players above though watch this space, because Harry and Meghan might just try.

In an age where the algorithm looked set to be king when it came to commissioning, global fame can sidestep the system

Shonda Rhimes is behind some of the biggest TV shows of all time, from Greys Anatomy to Scandal. Now leading her Shondaland crew, which signed a $150m deal with Netflix in 2018, she has already struck gold in tried and tested TV drama territory with Bridgertons runaway success. Benioff and Weisss $200m deal is about making as many Game of Thrones spin-offs as audiences will countenance seven, according to the latest calculations. Rogans $100m exclusive deal with Spotify is about the streaming giant trying to elbow other platforms out of the growing podcast market.

Ryan Murphy the producer behind Glee, Nipp/Tuck and American Horror Story, among others is as prolific as ever. With a longform Andy Warhol documentary in the works, Halston (starring Ewan McGregor as the design legend), more Ratched and more true crime in the form of a miniseries on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, many argue he will struggle to justify his $300m Netflix deal until he comes up with a critical and popular hit to rival Bridgerton.

In an age where the algorithm looked set to be king when it came to commissioning, global fame can sidestep the system. Because who is going to stop them, and why would you want to?

So it is that the Obamas can bring preschool puppet food show Waffles + Mochi, which went in to development at their Higher Ground production company under the working title Listen To Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents to the screen two years after their Oscar-winning documentary American Factory.

That film detailed a culture clash between blue-collar US workers and the factorys new Chinese owners, coming out in support of unionised labour but painting a nuanced picture of the decline of big industry in the US. They followed it with Crip Camp an empowering doc about a summer camp created by teens living with disabilities, and Becoming, based on Michelle Obamas memoir of the same name.

The range of output is set to grow bigger still. Coming up is a major series looking at Americas National Parks, another potential Oscar contender as Riz Ahmed leads an adaptation of Mohsin Hamids stunning 2017 novel Exit West an inventive, magical take on the refugee crisis. Then theres a doc on the unsung hero of Edmund Hillarys Everest mission Tenzing Norgay, a new sci-fi film from Rian Johnson, an adaptation of Young Adult thriller Firekeepers Daughter and The G Word, based on Michael Lewiss book The Fifth Risk about the unravelling of the American system of government during the Trump era.

We created Higher Ground to tell great stories. This group of projects builds upon that goal and the incredible path forged by films like Crip Camp, Becoming, and the Oscar-winning American Factory, is how the Obamas proclaimed their most recent slate of shows.

From science-fiction to the beauty of our natural world to the relationships that define us, Higher Ground continues to strive for fresh perspectives, compelling characters, and a healthy dose of inspiration.

So what does it all tell us about their vision? Plotting a narrative thread through their roster of shows and films in development is perilous. But is it too much to say that, while Donald Trump was in the highest office, Higher Ground have set about producing nothing less than a restatement, a reassertion, a re-upped and rewritten vision of the American Dream?

Theirs is a dream soundtracked by the workers songs of Baracks podcast pal Bruce Springsteen in American Factory, populated by a cast of progressive Sesame Street-style puppets in Waffle + Mochi, and celebrating the US as a land of great beauty and opportunity for all.

And its coming to a screen near you via Netflix starting with a series starring Michelle Obama as a shopkeeper, alongside a talking mop named Steve and Queer Eyes Tan France guest starring as a potato

Adrian Lobb is The Big Issues TV editor

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Netflix, the Obamas, and the new cultural elite streaming your way - Big Issue