0Sign in
TALK OF THE COUNTY
SANTA ANAOnly 140 votes separate Amezcua and Shimell in the Santa Ana mayor raceHUNTINGTON BEACHRep. Robert Garcia: Huntington Beach's MAGA days are overANAHEIMAnaheim mayor race: Ashleigh Aitken jumps out to a big early leadSANTA ANASanta Ana mayor race: Amezcua led on election night, but later counts tightenedANAHEIMAnaheim's The Mighty Tribe are back with “USA” video, shot at the Garden AmpPARTNERPlanet Catalyst in Santa Ana wants a local artist to paint a space-themed mural

Anaheim · Community

Man calls for Anaheim High to drop its 'Colonists' name, claims a KKK link

A man filmed outside Anaheim High School said the school's longtime Colonists name should go and claimed the Ku Klux Klan started it. He offered no evidence for that claim, and not everyone agrees the name should change.

By Juice Unlocked NewsroomPublished · 2 min read
The clip opens with a split screen: Anaheim High's building at 811 W. Lincoln Ave., a campus banner reading "Home of the Colonists" and a man's point-of-view shot as he points down a street toward the school. Speaking in English and briefly in Spanish, he calls for the Colonists name to be changed, claims the KKK started it and says most people in the area are "brown." He also urges students to vote on the change in November and ends by calling to "decolonize" Anaheim.
By Juice Unlocked NewsroomPublished · 2 min read

A man filmed outside Anaheim High School said the school's longtime Colonists name should go and claimed the Ku Klux Klan started it. He offered no evidence for that claim, and not everyone agrees the name should change.

A man filmed near Anaheim High School called for the school to drop its "Colonists" name in a video Juice Unlocked posted April 2, 2026.

In the clip, he points down the street toward the campus and says the name should change. He claims the Ku Klux Klan started it but offers no evidence. The man is not named in the post.

What he said

Speaking mostly in English, with one line in Spanish, the man says the majority of people in the area are "brown" and lists Mexican, Chicano, Indigenous and Central American communities. He ties the Colonists name to land being taken from Native people.

He also says "no to ICE" and tells students to "vote to change the name in November." The video does not say what vote he means, and Juice Unlocked could not confirm that any vote on the name was scheduled.

“Change the name of the colonists.”

Man in the video

Background

Anaheim High opened in 1898 at 811 W. Lincoln Ave. It is the oldest of the nine comprehensive high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District and had about 2,750 students in 2022-23. Its athletic teams are called the Colonists.

German settlers from San Francisco founded Anaheim in 1857, and it was incorporated as a city in 1876. The largest of downtown's historic districts is still called the Anaheim Colony. Hispanic or Latino residents made up 53.8% of the city's population in the 2020 census.

The Klan does have a documented history in the city. Klan members were elected to the Anaheim City Council in 1924, and opponents recalled them in a special election in 1925. The sources Juice Unlocked reviewed do not explain where the school's nickname came from, and they do not connect it to the Klan.

“Because the KKK ... started that name. And the majority of people are brown.”

Man in the video

The reaction

Not everyone is on board, Juice Unlocked noted in its post, which asked readers whether the name should stay or go. The post drew more than 250 comments.

“So students, listen up. Change the name. Vote to change the name in November.”

Man in the video

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Anaheim High School
  2. Wikipedia: Anaheim, California

Filed under Anaheim

Originally posted on Instagram · View post ↗

45,814 views · 837 likes · 257 comments

See a mistake? Corrections · Got a tip? Send it to Juice

Keep reading

More from Anaheim

More from Anaheim