University of Virginia Changes Logo to 'Remove Slavery Reference' ("Serpentine Walls")

Popculture.com ^ | June 17, 2020 | Brian Jones

[yesthatjallen]

The University of Virginia will change its logo used in athletics to remove references to slavery. The school made the announcement Monday, and it comes on the heels of the school recently updating the logo, which was done on April 24, according to USA Today. Virginia's logo uses a large "V" over crossed sabers with added details to the grip of the sword handles. Those details were meant to "mimic the design of the serpentine walls" found on the school's campus. University founder Thomas Jefferson designed the walls "to muffle the sounds of and hide from view the slaves who toiled on campus." The walls were replaced with shorter versions in the 1950s.

The school said both logos have been altered, taking out the sword handle details, and the team will revert to more traditional "straight-line handles." In a statement, Virginia Athletic Director Carla Williams said: "I was made aware of the negative connotation between the serpentine walls and slavery. I was not previously aware of the historical perspective indicating the original eight-foot-high walls were constructed to mask the institution of slavery and enslaved laborers from public view. Williams continued to say the logo "was no intent to cause harm, but we did, and for that I apologize to those who bear the pain of slavery in our history. As such, we have redesigned the logos to remove that detail."

SNIP

[yesthatjallen]

[piasa]

Oh, just great... the St Louis Zoo has these old serpentine walls of brick, too, so there’s another target.

[pnut22]

Ohio State is changing it’s logo, too. Male slaves were referred to as bucks dontcha know? /S

[D Rider]

I do not believe it. The serpentine walls were a landscaping feature. The geometry does not make sense in regards to slavery. Unless there is a direct historical reference, I think this may be another one of those outrage for outrages sake things. A way to push white around.

[Fedora]

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) incorporated serpentine walls into the architecture of the University of Virginia, which he founded. Flanking both sides of its landmark rotunda and extending down the length of the lawn are ten pavilions, each with its own walled garden separated by crinkle crankle walls. Although some authorities claim that Jefferson invented this design, he was merely adapting a well-established English style of construction. A university document in his own hand shows how he calculated the savings and combined aesthetics with utility.[10]: Crinkle crankle wall

The serpentine walls, one brick thick--an economical solution: Pendleton Hogan explains that "Jefferson did not invent serpentine walls. Almost surely he saw them in England in 1786, and he may have seen a type of them earlier at Governor Sir William Berkeley's Green Spring plantation, built about 1645 three miles west of Jamestown. But there can be no doubt that by placing such walls throughout the university's grounds, Jefferson brought them enduring appreciation" (71).: The Lawn, University of Virginia--page 3 of 3 pages

the gardens are surrounded by Thomas Jefferson’s famous serpentine walls; the design does not especially seem to invite passersby. This is no accident. In the beginning, the pavilion gardens were “an extension of those residences,” said Mary Hughes, University landscape architect. “In the early configuration, you could only enter from a pavilion or a hotel”—that is, the larger buildings along the Lawn and the East and West Ranges. “There were no outside gates like now.” Jefferson determined that the gardens would be enclosed by walls and would connect the pavilions, which still serve as faculty residences, to hotels, which were dining facilities. As at Monticello, he intended the gardens to be “completely integral to the experience of the house,” said Hughes. “Beyond that he left no particular instructions.”: Secret gardens: UVA’s pavilion gardens harbor history

[Deaf Smith]

So the acoustic sound barrier walls placed between roads and residential areas is racist?

BTW. the sword grips look like finger grooves for better handling when bloody from one's adversary.

[adorno]

The biggest and most offensive reminder of slavery and black oppression, is still going to be around, and democrats won’t do a damn thing about it.

That reminder is none other than the democratic party. Everybody that was ever a leader in the party should be eliminated from the pages of American history, because, without them, blacks might have been well on the way to equality and enjoying America the same as whites. The best way to hide your racism, is to pretend that you care about blacks. Meanwhile, that kind of subtle and downright open racism, is what’s keeping blacks and other minorities unequal and dependent on government, which is the most odorous and sinister way to keep controlling blacks (and other minorities).

[sauropod]

Bkmk

[ldish]

Got to stop eating pancakes and waffles - liked aunt Jamma’s syrup...

[windsorknot]

So many symbols, so many statues, so many books, so many movies, so many logos, so many offensive words and images....... What’s a woke SJW to do?

[rfp1234]

This is the only way they can justify using their craphole degrees. With a liberal arts education and a search engine, anyone and anything in any epoch can be made into a ‘racist’.

[Soul of the South]

For several years the University of Virginia’s progressive administration has been supporting the study of slavery at the university, and the contribution of enslaved peoples. A few years ago a commission was established to study slavery at UVA and it issued a report in 2018. A memorial to the enslaved people who worked at the university was recently constructed next to the original Thomas Jefferson designed buildings at the core of the university’s grounds. Page 25 of the report describes the serpentine walls as having been constructed by Thomas Jefferson to hide the slaves working at the University. However, the report does not cite any period sources. Here is a link to the report: https://vpdiversity.virginia.edu/sites/vpdiversity.virginia.edu/files/PCSU%20Report%20FINAL_July%202018.pdf

Louis P. Nelson, a professor of architectural history and vice president of academic outreach at the University of Virginia, recently co authored a book titled “Educated in Tyranny: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s University.” A lecture given by Professor Nelson pertaining to his views on Thomas Jefferson, as well as perspective of the impact of slavery on the institution is summarized in the YouTube video at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bS7sFVJkBY His perception of the serpentine walls appears about the 20 minute mark in the video. For anyone interested in seeing a modern university professor lecturing students about one of the founding fathers, take time to watch the video.

Professor Nelson appears to be the sole source of the assertion the serpentine walls were constructed to hide slavery. He makes the claim Thomas Jefferson consciously and deliberately designed the original buildings and landscaping to hide the slaves working on the grounds from public view. His claim seems to be an inference derived from his personal interpretation of the architecture, and his perception of Jefferson’s thinking on slavery, not from actual period documents. No period documents exist validating the Mr. Louis’s conclusions about Thomas Jefferson’s motives when designing the buildings and grounds of the university.

Professor Nelson’s interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s design of the university, and what he views as Jefferson’s racism, is now accepted as historical fact by the University of Virginia and throughout progressive academia.

Thomas Jefferson made the following statement regarding his vision for the University of Virginia in a letter to William Roscoe in 1820. “This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”

What is truth in a modern progressive academic institution and is reason still free to combat error at today’s University of Virginia?

[dangus]

I always took the swords to be Confederate. I know supposedly “Virginia Cavaliers” refers to Royalists in the 17th Century, but that should be a pretty damned shameful reference on its own, given the Crown’s treatment of Virginia after restoration and the association of being a Royalist ohhh about a century later.

But that stuff about the sword handle reflecting the zig-zag walls? Seems strange, since the walls were replaced long before the logo was created. They sure seem more likely to be grips.

[dangus]

Google “Virginia Cavalry” and the results are dominated by Civil War cavalries, not American Revolution, not WWI, and certainly not English Civil War cavalries.

[dangus]

Just to amplify what you’ve written:

The theory that the walls were erected that way came forward in 2018. The handles of the swords were designed in 1994. The serpentine walls were removed decades earlier.

OTOH, mention “Virginia Cavalry” and anyone is sure to think of the U.S. Civil War, even if the reference is supposedly to the English Civil War.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Fedora: SARC: Please do not educate us with the truth. The truth is whatever the “1984” Marxists and Black Fascists say it is, despite any proof to the contrary.

Serpentine is also a kind of black rock with other types of minerals in it that give it the appearance of a snake’s stripes.

Oops. My bad. I just did “educate us”. Guess it’s my “20” years of college education kicking in. /sarc (Actually 4 yr BA; graduate studies in two fields but left because the professors disorganization and BS was too much to take - had about 25 grad credits; one course at GW before I left on a fact-finding mission to So. Vietnam/Cambodia - Got a B in the class. My teacher was a leftist but academically an honest man. AAC in Police Science (60+ credits), Two year equivalent credits for my Paralegal Degree; Summer/regular seminars at Chengchi Un, Taipei and Un. of Miami Seminar on International Defense and Strategies.

Gee I feel like John Belushi in ‘Animal House’ when he said “Nine of college down the drain”.

[dangus]

The sword grips? Not racist.

Everything else? Pretty bad.

Up until the 1990s, the Virginia Cavaliers' logo included a dandy British swordsman. But then, they changed to two swords crossed under a "V," which, yes, I just confirmed my association was accurate. Such swords were the symbol for the 1st Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate States of America. The swords ARE turned the opposite way in the Civil War emlblems, but they are curved swords with grips. Such curved swords were in vogue among U.S. Civil War-era officers, but not at the time of the British Civil War.

[Fedora]

Nelson appears to be a left-wing activist who recruits gullible students to his cause: Louis P. Nelson, Vice Provost for Academic Outreach, is the primary advocate and representative for community engagement, public service, and academic outreach programs across the university. UVA’s work in these areas takes place in Charlottesville, across the Commonwealth, the nation and the globe. Community Engagement includes a robust curricular program grounded in community partnerships and a commitment to the education of students for socially responsible, engaged citizenship.: Engaged UVA: Louis Nelson

The Project on Lived Theology: Contributor Profile: Louis P. Nelson (This is a leftist "theology" front group that promotes Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, Daniel Berrigan, etc.)

Other professors and student agitators are helping promote this controversy: "In an interview with The Cavalier Daily, second-year Batten student Lauren Cochran expressed that the walls contribute to the historically non-inclusive environment built by Thomas Jefferson, serving as a physical symbol of injustice that accompanied the already apparent social division at the University. . .“For many, this wall evokes stringent feelings of emotional distress and pain. As an African-American student who walks past these walls every day, I experience uncomfortable emotions relating to the history and justification of the walls.”. . .In a tweet, Media Studies Professor Meredith Clark criticized the design’s ahistorical depiction of Grounds. Clark shared that the serpentine walls remain an unsettling component of her daily life teaching at the University during an interview with The Cavalier Daily. “I came here the day after Heather Heyer was killed … so that summer I was here while all of that was unfolding,” Clark said. “It was definitely a vivid reminder of where I was, and the history that people want to make a current reality. That's the feeling that I have when I pass those walls.”":

Cochran's LinkedIn profile includes a like for Black Lives Matter and states, "Lauren is a motivated third year student in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia (UVA). She is affiliated with various organizations such as the Meriwether Lewis Institute for Citizen Leadership, Orientation and New Student Programs, UVA Democracy Initiative, Vice Provost and Rotunda Affairs Office, Office of African American Affairs, and University Judiciary Committee. Her interests lie within the intersection of race and public policy in which she intends to explore in law school upon graduation. She wishes to pursue a career in law, advocacy, and equity."

Meredith Clark is also a Black Lives Matter activist: It’s been nearly a year since Deen Freelon, assistant professor of communication studies at American University, first reached out about applying for a grant to study #BlackLivesMatter as civic engagement. Together with Freelon and Charlton McIllwain, an associate professor of media, culture and communication at New York University, I’m conducting research on how social media use factors in to personal and community activism. . .I’ve studied Black Twitter since 2010, and am currently working on a book about it. TheRoot.com thought enough of my work to name me No. 66 of the most 100 influential Black Americans on their 2015 Root 100 list.: Meredith D. Clark

[Fedora]

Clark's associates Deen Freelon of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Charlton McIlwain of New York University are both black activist professors who focus on the use of technology to promote groups such as Black Lives Matter, writing about topics such as "Black Twitter", "Black Software", etc.

[Fedora]

Freelon looks like he coauthored a paper with some Chicoms: “2018 The Twitter exploit: How Russian propaganda infiltrated US news Report (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Lukito, J., Wells, C., Zhang, Yini, Doroshenko, L., Kim, S. J., Su, M.-H., Suk, J., Xia, Y., Freelon, D.”