Chapter 16 - MY SECOND BAD DECISION
I ordered Dominic’s memorial removed from every foundation property.
Photographs.
Plaques.
The field named after him.
Everything.
The board refused.
Again.
I was furious.
"He built the system."
"He also founded scholarships still operating."
"He hurt children."
"He used disciplinary methods we now reject."
"Then take his name down."
The board chair said:
"That requires process."
I nearly walked out.
Then the archivist, Dr. Helen Shaw, asked:
"Do you want history corrected or erased?"
That stopped me.
We reviewed.
The field name remained temporarily pending a formal historical assessment.
The memorial exhibit changed.
No heroic caption.
Instead:
Dominic Conti founded the program in 1987. Archival records also document disciplinary practices inconsistent with current child-safety standards. The foundation no longer uses those methods.
Some relatives hated it.
"Disrespectful to the dead."
Truth cannot disrespect the dead.
It can only complicate the living.
May you like
Later the board renamed the youth field after the community, not another family member.
No new hero required.
