NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — This time next year, the Niagara Street Elementary School will have a new name: Bloneva Bond Primary School.

It’s an honor one local group fought for over the past few months.

The Men Standing Strong Together are a familiar sight in Niagara Falls schools. They interact with the students almost every day, from the little ones to the high schoolers.

“It gives us an opportunity to talk to the children and, you know, form a relationship with them so if they ever need us at a later time, we'll be there, could provide a service for them,” said Rev. Charles Searcy.

Soon, their impact will be immortalized at the Niagara Street Elementary School.

On November 18, the school board voted to change the name of the school to Bloneva Bond Primary School. It’s a change Men Standing Strong Together worked toward for months.

Bond was the first Black woman to serve on the board, from 1979 to 1984.

She was also part of the New York State Community Action Program (NYCAP) Board of Directors, Niagara Coalition, Council of Christians and Jews (now the National Federation for Just Communities of WNY, Inc.), United Way of Niagara Central Budget Committee, Niagara Community Center Scholarship Committee and Congress of Racial Equality, according to the school district.

During the 1971 uprising at Attica Prison, Bond worked on behalf of the prisoners in their negotiations with the authorities on their fundamental rights to human dignity.

Bond died in 2004.

Changing the school’s name to honor her means more than just some new letters on a building.

“It gives them someone that looks like us,” said Rev. Searcy, a member of Men Standing Strong Together. “That shows what we contribute to the community and to the city of Niagara Falls.”

That’s something the kids here might not understand yet, but it sets them up to learn.

“I know as soon as that name gets changed on that building, you're going to have people want to learn about it,” said Shakai, a student at Niagara Falls High School. “People will wonder what happened and that's gonna lead to bigger things.”

Bigger things like inspiring kids to dream big, knowing they can make a difference.

“[It’s a] very big deal,” said Tyree Cox, the sergeant-at-arms for Men Standing Strong Together. “First time in 40 years [a school’s name was changed here]. It's a thing to celebrate.”

Tyree Cox says if he’d seen something like this growing up, it would have inspired him to learn more about the community’s history. He’s glad he can show students like his daughter that groups like Men Standing Strong are here.

“It'll open my mind; it’ll expand it to want to know more about our history,” he said.

“I got a lot of nieces and nephews, and they know about Rosa Parks and stuff,” said Genesis Cox, a student at Niagara Falls High School. “I want my kids to experience that.”

It’s an educational experience for all students, and maybe even beyond that.

“We do focus on the black youth because the black youth has a lot of problems, a lot of issues. But we also want our plight to be understood by the white youth,” explained Hugh Leftwich, the president of Men Standing Strong Together. “We want them to know how we feel because I think a lot of times they don't understand, you know? And not just kids but these adults too.”

They’re not done yet. The group says it will continue its work both in and on schools going forward.

“It's a milestone in the City of Niagara Falls, but it's a stepping stone for Men Standing Strong Together,” said Leftwich.