Confederate Monuments on College Campuses

Monuments come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are statues of individual people, and other times they are gigantic buildings. This post will explore a case that refers to the latter. It may also be worth noting that this is another change that was not a direct result of the events of Charlottesville, VA in August 2017.

In 1933, a $50,000 donation from the United Daughters of the Confederacy, UDC, was given to Vanderbilt University. The money was used to create a residence hall, known as Confederate Memorial Hall. The name had been a source of controversy for decades, and in 2016, the university took action. A total of $1.2 million was given to the UDC from Vanderbilt in order to legally change the name of the building to simply “Memorial Hall.” This amount of money was rooted in a 2002 case in which Vanderbilt had attempted to change the name, for which the UDC sued, and the court determined in 2005 that the university must repay the UDC the current value of the donation if a name-change were to take place. The UDC was not happy with the eventual course of action, and their lawyer stated, “Confederate Memorial Hall was not about the history of Nashville, Tennessee or even the South… Rather it is about the history of this country." (source)

  University Chancellor Zeppos spoke about the ongoing debate to change the name in a Vanderbilt news article. He stated that a reoccurring question was: “Can we continue to strive for that diverse and inclusive community where we educate the leaders that our communities, nation and world so desperately need, with this hall as so created? My view, like that of so many in the past, and so many in our present, is that we cannot.” He spoke directly about the history behind the name, as well.  He stated, “It spoke to a past of racial segregation, slavery, and the terrible conflict over the unrealized high ideals of our nation and our university, and looms over a present that continues to struggle to end the tragic effects of racial segregation and strife.”

 With that, the word “Confederate” was removed from the building in August 2016, and it is now officially known as Memorial Hall.

  Zeppos plans to continue the conversations of “race, reconciliation and reunion" with annual conferences according to an article in the Tennessean. "I think we teach history by how we talk about these events" he stated.

  Student actions in the past, specifically those of Vanderbilt’s Hidden Dore organization, had called upon the university to take action to make changes for improvements to “diversity, equity and inclusion and addressing the need for changes in mental health support, curriculum, staffing, accountability and policy.” This organization marched silently to the Chancellor with signed lists of demands in November 2015. One specific demand was to remove the inscription “Confederate” from Memorial Hall. Less than a year later, this demand was in fact met. It is likely that the monumental name-change was in part a response to the students’ direct demands for improvements to equity and inclusion.

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Students took to social media to commend the university’s action. A simple Twitter search for “Vanderbilt Confederate Memorial Hall” leads to hundreds of results from August 2016 in which students, alumni, and outsiders weighed in on the conversation. Twitter-verified, Vanderbilt alum Clay Travis, author of Dixieland Delight & On Rocky Top, however, took to Twitter to express his opposition to the name change. This Twitter search also revealed that this conversation had been going on long before the school took action.

Not all schools that have removed Confederate monuments have done so as a response to the violent riots in Charlottesville in August 2017. The emergence and removal of these monuments have been controversial for decades, and many schools have taken action long before the controversy heightened. Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, is an example of such.

  January 2015 marks the time that Dixie State University chose to no longer be home to what was known as “The Rebels” statue, which depicts two Confederate soldiers helping each other, one with the Confederate flag in his hand. The University publicly acknowledged the controversy surrounding this statue for years in 2012 when it placed the statue in storage after it had become a hot spot for anti-racism rallies. Months later, however, it made its way back out, after Dixie State College successfully changed its name to Dixie State University. (source)

 The artist, Jerry Anderson, was given the statue back after it had stood on campus since 1987. The university agreed to display different art by Anderson. Then-President Richard Williams stated, "We are very appreciative of Mr. Anderson's generous artistic contributions, not only to Dixie State University, but to the entire region." (source)

  A university spokesperson, Steven Johnson, said that the removal of the statue meant that the school can “officially put the Confederate identity behind us… Now the university can move forward.” (source)

  Student responses to the removal of this statue varied greatly. One student reported that she was glad to see the statue removed, and that “…it's the good direction that Dixie needs to go in… It just offended a lot of people." Students in agreement with such statements reported feelings of things changing on campus for the better. Others in the Dixie community, however, were less than pleased with this change. Reasoning behind support for the statue is rooted in the notion that the statue did not represent the Confederacy specifically, rather it symbolized brotherhood and helping the less fortunate. (source)

  The following video from the Spectrum shows the removal of the statue in January 2015, and initial student responses.

On Saturday, August 19, 2017, a statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the renown Duke University Chapel. The statue had been placed in the chapel in 1932, and stood in between Thomas Jefferson, and Sidney Lanier, a Confederate veteran and poet. Following the riots in Charlottesville, student interest in their statue of Robert E. Lee peaked, and a hunt for its origins began. University Archives were able to provide little insight as to how the statue came to be included in the chapel, located across from religious figures such as Martin Luther and John Wycliffe. It did reveal, however, that there is a total of 10 historical figures that line the exterior of the chapel. Unfortunately, there is no indication of who approved the statue, but records show that the president of Duke at the time wrote in a letter that the statue’s installment was “disappointing.”

Dean of the Chapel, Luke Powery, has stated that throughout Duke’s history, there have been times student’s and alumni have sought to remove the statue. However, no actions had been taken to do so until the riots in Charlottesville, VA took place. (source) Very shortly after the violence in Charlottesville, the statue in Duke Chapel had been vandalized. Duke officials investigated, and Chapel security was increased. “For an individual or group of individuals to take matters into their own hands and vandalize a house of worship undermines the right, protected in our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion, of every Duke student and employee to participate fully in university life” are the words of Duke officials posted to the an article on the Duke website almost immediately after the vandalization scandal was made public. (source)

Then, just three days later, on August 19, President Vice issued a statement explaining that the statue of Lee would be removed that day from the Chapel entrance. Part of his statement to the campus read,

“I took this course of action to protect Duke Chapel, to ensure the vital safety of students and community members who worship there, and above all to express the deep and abiding values of our university” and the statue “will be preserved so that students can study Duke's complex past and take part in a more inclusive future." (source)

 Reactions to the statue’s removal were made known to the community clearly. One student wrote in an opinion article in Duke’s newspaper, The Chronicle, about the true meaning of Confederate statues and why they have no place in today’s society. A sophomore at the time, Abrams references UNC’s Silent Sam and the unashamed support of white supremacy for which the statue stands, as supported by Confederate leader Julian Carr in 1913. Abrams asserts that now can be as good a time as any to change the community’s message that “upholds a dated racial caste system and demeans the experience of Black Americans.” Similarly, another article states that students praised the removal of the statue and feel that “its removal makes the campus a more welcoming place.” As a response and show of support for their approval of the statue’s removal, students created the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Center to “help eliminate societal structures that perpetuate racism.” While showing support, other students noted that the statue should have been removed sooner, and not simply out of response to the Charlottesville riot. Nonetheless, many students commended the swiftness to which the statue was removed.

Alumni also submitted letters to the editor and created opinion articles about the removal of the statue. Many were not in favor of the University’s actions. One alumnus of Trinity College ’69 noted that removing the statue does not make the history behind it more tolerable, and so removing it was a bad move. Alumnus of ’66 Bernstein stated that he protested the statue’s permanent removal, and asserts that as a previous Chapel tour guide, his knowledge of Robert E. Lee’s meaning in the statue makes it unimaginable that he would be removed. He urges the University to think before putting the statue “in storage and not in its rightful place.”

Although this does not take place at a college campus per-say, as residents of Charlottesville, Virginia, students at the University of Virginia have weighed in on the city’s decision to rename what was once Lee and Jackson Park to what is now Emancipation and Justice Park. A new name change is currently being debated by the city council.

The public park is located about a mile away from the university. It was named Lee and Jackson Parks for decades until the City Council unanimously voted to change the name to Emancipation and Justice Parks in June 2017, just two months before the infamous Unite the Right riot took place in Charlottesville. However, this new name has not been satisfactory to all. Articles in the University of Virginia’s student-newspaper, The Cavalier Daily, provide insight into why this is so. It is argued that the name does not do justice to the participation enslaved African Americans played in their fight for freedom. Local activist, Marey Carey, played a large role in speaking against the Council’s name change as not being good enough. City Council has addressed this by a call for public participation by voting to rename the park once again.

As of April 17, 2018, some new names that are being suggested by the City Council include: Market Street Park, Vinegar Hill Park, Central Park, and Library Park Court Square Park, Courthouse Park, and Justice Park.

An ongoing lawsuit from February 2017 has prevented the City Council from removing a statue of Robert E. Lee from one of the parks, though it was covered with tarp in August 2017 after the riots. As members of the Charlottesville community, UVA students continue to stay up to date and keep themselves involved in the city’s decisions to moving towards equality and fair representation. The Cavalier Daily remains an intriguing source of information as this new chapter in Charlottesville’s story unfolds.

What an interesting question! 

Well… in regards to evil acts that are discussed on this blog (SLAVERY), we see that evil can be institutionalized, so it can be hard to distinguish if it is the person that is evil, or if it’s just society as a whole. While we can consider that it is possible for non-evil people to do evil things, it’s important not to create a scapegoat for these people and excuse their evil actions. That being said, I’m not sure if I believe that people are simply born evil, either!! Evil actions can  result as a person being a product of their environment, and yet we all still have free will and the ability to choose what it is we put into society and what we get out of it (unless, of course, you were enslaved). 

I feel like I could ramble on about this question forever, but I’ll stop it there. :) 

(picture source)

In the immediate aftermath of the events at Charlottesville, in August 2017, less than two weeks before the 2017-2018 school year had begun, the University of Texas at Austin swiftly removed 4 Confederate statues from its campus in one night. The statues were of the following men: Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate cabinet member John Reagan, and James Stephen “Big Jim” Hogg, Texas’ 20th governor. The university stated that the “Big Jim” statue was simply being relocated on campus, not removed for ideological reasons like the others.

  In a letter from the university’s president, Greg Fenves, it is explained to the community that the violent protests in Charlottesville sparked a realization of what the statues had represented: “Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism,” and “the subjugation of African Americans.” Three of the statues were moved to the campus collection historical center, joining a statue of Jefferson Davis that was removed from campus years prior.  

  While the act of removing these statues from campus was commended, students also felt insulted that it took the violence at Charlottesville for change to be initiated when the removal of these statues had been requested by students for decades. Following the removal of the Jefferson Davis statue in 2015, students had petitioned to remove the remaining Confederate statues from campus as well. Some even did so in a petition on Change.org, a popular online petitioning website, outlining exactly why these statues should have been removed at that time. In an opinion article in The Daily Texan, the university’s student-newspaper, a student – Jaree Campbell – presents the question, “So, why does it take a grand display of violence hundreds of miles away to validate the discrimination faced by UT students?” which she prefaced by stating, “I commend the University for seeing the racist and hate-fueled rally as it was and reacting accordingly,  but I also recognize that the response is only a confirmation of what students of color have been saying for years.”

 Other students took a broader look at the city and its efforts, or lack thereof, in promoting diversity – again, insinuating that the removal of these statues is just a start for this campus community and its surroundings.

Certainly, there is still more work that can be done to further the mission of University of Texas at Austin to “cultivate an inclusive campus culture.” In February 2018, students proposed renaming the University’s physics, math, and astronomy building that is named after Robert Lee Moore, a professor at the university in the 20th century who refused to teach black students. After reporting a low percentage of black students enrolled at UT Austin, the authors state,  

One night in September 2017, a pickup truck drove into the Confederate Soldier statue, erected in 1906, located at “the Circle” entrance at University of Mississippi – Ole Miss, as it’s popularly called. It was determined by the police that the driver was drunk and that driving into the statue was an accident, despite rumors that the act may have been purposeful. The incident, however, sparked controversial debate over whether or not that statue should remain on the campus, especially as school administration then faced the choice of paying to repair the damages of the statue, or just finish the demolition that the truck had begun. Students and other campus members were divided about what the school should do. 

(source)

About a month after the incident, Ole Miss announced that it would pay more than $10,000 to repair the statue. Deputy Attorney General Mike Lanford offered that statues could be relocated as long as it remains on public, county property, and yet, statue-reparations continued. However, perhaps to appease the side of the community asking for removal of the statue as it is an offensive symbol of the Confederacy, Ole Miss did change the words written on the monument’s plaque. The contextualization plaque now includes a statement that reminds us that “the defeat of the Confederacy actually meant freedom for millions of people.” 

“If the Confederate flag offends you, you need a history lesson.” 

Florida State University’s website proudly states that there is a “beautifully rendered bronze seated statue” of Francis Eppes located on the north side of their Westcott Plaza. The statue was erected in 1999 as part of “campus improvement project” that began a decade earlier. Grandson of Thomas Jefferson and renowned lover of education, Eppes is labeled a “Founder of Florida State University.” While the website makes a point to note that Eppes was not interested in politics, perhaps to claim that he did not have strong ties to the Confederacy, he served as Justice of the Peace and long-time Intendant (Mayor) of the City of Tallahassee and as president of the Board of Education. Despite the lack of his interest in politics claimed by FSU, Eppes’ issued many orders during his time as the Mayor, including the establishment of night watches in the streets to catch slaves. His impact on the campus includes tireless efforts to keep the school afloat financially during the Civil War by appealing to the Confederate government of Tallahassee and Richmond. Perhaps what is most controversial is the known fact that Eppes owned slaves – many, due to his family wealth – and his support of the Confederate cause during the Civil War.

This contentious information stirred not only conversation, but action by members of Florida State University’s community, especially among the student body. In Fall 2016, there was a proposal issued for the removal of the statue from the campus and the removal of Eppes’ name from a building. In their Fall 2016 Student Government elections, students had to vote yes or no to the following: “We, the students of Florida State University, do not believe in honoring slave owners and those that enforced slavery. Therefore, we demand President John Thrasher, and the FSU Board of Trustees, remove the Francis Eppes Monument in front of the Westcott Building and rename Eppes Hall to remove Francis Eppes’ name. Do you agree?” Seventy-two percent of those who responded voted “no.” Perhaps some of those who voted no were influenced by the Facebook page that was created titled Vote No, Keep Francis Eppes, which contained a post stating: “Fellow FSU Students, I urge you to fight against the culture of safe spaces and the bleaching of history. Please vote NO tomorrow on the referendum to have the statue of our school's founder, Francis Eppes removed.”

FSU members of the Students for a Democratic Society, SDS, were responsible for collecting at least 500 signatures to present the proposal on the ballet. Despite the overwhelming “no” they received, members do not plan on giving up their efforts of raising awareness and making change of Confederate support on their campus.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC, is home to a Confederate monument titled “Silent Sam.” It is located on McCorkle Place, the University's upper quad, facing Franklin Street, due North. As many Confederate monuments do, it faces North purposely, as to face THE North. The statue was erected in 1913, nearly 50 years after the end of the Civil War, and still greater than 40 years away from when it would integrate to allow African Americans to attend in 1955. The monument was funded by University Alumni and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Its alleged purpose is to memorialize the Confederate alumni who lost their lives during the War. Its dedication reads, "…the sons of the University who died for their beloved Southland 1861-1865." According to UNC’s website, more than 1,000 male students fought in the War. It is also noted that more than 40 % of its students were enlisted, which is unmatched by any other institution in the US at that time. [source] At the monuments unveiling in June of 1913, Chapel Hill-born industrialist Julian Carr, commemorated not only UNC Confederates, both those across all Southern campuses:

 “The educational institutions of the South here a conspicuous part in respect to the number of students who represented them in the ranks of the army of the Confederacy. Nowhere in all the South was the approaching conflict more keenly scented than in the universities and colleges, and the gallant boys, then pursuing their studies, lost no time in preparing themselves for the hour when the call should come… On every battlefield they gave good account of themselves, and with their life-blood the sealed the compact of patriot and hero.” (source)

Today, however, much of the UNC Chapel Hill community feels very differently about this monument than the honor and respect called for by Julian Carr. While the monument may have sparked interested and controversy alike, noticeable protest began to take place on campus by August 2017, shortly after protesters removed a Confederate monument in the city of Durham, NC. In September 2017, students staged a large sit-in for the cause of removing the statue, and promised to continue to protest until action was taken. For months now, many have called for the removal of Silent Sam. A Twitter account has been created to organize the thoughts and actions of those at UNC to share their happenings on a larger scale. On March 6, 2018, UNC’s student-run newspaper The Daily Tarheel reported that a statement was issued by a group of 270 faculty, staff, students, alumni and other affiliates of the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) to the department’s dean that called for the removal of Silent Sam. The article read, “The statement said Silent Sam's presence opposes the department's mission to ‘improve the quality of life for diverse local, national, and global communities,’ as well as restricts ‘access, use, management, and stewardship of information.’”