Posted on 07/07/2020 1:18:23 PM PDT by Perseverando
Washington and Lee University faculty passed a motion to remove Robert E. Lee from the name of the small liberal arts college in Lexington.
The motion — the first time for W&L faculty to make such a recommendation — will be sent to the board of trustees.
W&L President Will Dudley called a special meeting to discuss the motion at the request of the faculty affairs committee. More than 260 faculty members attended the virtual meeting late Monday afternoon and 79% of them voted for the motion.
“The university’s name rests with its board of trustees, and there are no current plans to change it,” said university spokeswoman Drewry Sackett.
The school was named for George Washington, an early benefactor, and Lee, the former Confederate general and president of the university who is buried in the chapel at the heart of campus. Washington and Lee University is the school’s fifth name since 1749.
The three permanent Black faculty members at W&L’s law school called for the removal of both Washington’s and Lee’s names from the school’s name, according to a letter sent to Dudley.
“It is worth exploring why the faculty has decided to make a collective statement on Lee and why the faculty has not included a demand to drop Washington in their petition,” according to the letter written by Brandon Hasbrouck, an alum and associate professor of law. “It is no longer acceptable, profitable or convenient to be associated with Lee but it is for Washington.”
An amendment was proposed to include the removal of Washington’s name, but that motion failed.
Faculty members also discussed the importance of having wider discussions about the overall campus climate, said Zoila Ponce de Leon, an assistant professor of politics.
“A name change is a symbolic gesture, but
(Excerpt) Read more at richmond.com ...
Virtue Signal University
When General Lee refused President Lincoln’s commission to command the Union Forces, he specifically told President Lincoln that he could not take up arms against his own people and home, the State of Virginia.
Out of a nation of over 300 million people today, I doubt that there are even 10 people currently living here who could measure up to GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.
If you found 10 I would probably drop dead of a heart attack.
Would that be General Pope?
I believe he was killed by artillery fire by General Sherman’s troops.
Washington and Che?
About 30 years ago, they got rid of all the southern flags that adorned both sides of the chapel. The student president also lead processions carrying a baton adorned with a small Confederate battle flag. They got rid of that, too. But there are still statues and historical markers, street names and building names all over campus that are ripe for desecration. It remains to be seen whether or not the word “South” will be removed from the University’s name. The South is evil, you know. These barbarians did, after all, outlaw the word “Dixie.”
General Lee’s contemporaries on both sides held him in the highest esteem. Millions of Southern boys (mine included) were and are named for him. I am glad I had the opportunity to visit his tomb. Will they destroy it and the magnificent statue that is above it? Is Traveller to be disinterred and his bones scattered about. This is almost too much for a Southern heart to bear.
Leonidas Polk (April 10, 1806 – June 14, 1864) was a planter in Maury County, Tennessee, US, and a second cousin of President James K. Polk. He was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. He resigned his ecclesiastical position to become a major general in the Confederate army (called “Sewanee’s Fighting Bishop”). His official portrait at the University of the South depicts him dressed as a bishop with his army uniform hanging nearby.
Polk was one of the more notable, yet controversial, political generals of the war. Recognizing his indispensable familiarity with the Mississippi Valley, Confederate President Jefferson Davis commissioned his elevation to a high military position regardless of his lack of prior combat experience. He commanded troops in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the Tullahoma Campaign, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Chattanooga Campaign, and the Atlanta Campaign. He is remembered for his bitter disagreements with his immediate superior, the likewise-controversial General Braxton Bragg of the Army of Tennessee, and for his general lack of success in combat. While serving under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston, he was killed in action in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.
I believe Bishop Polk was also one of the founders of the University of the South.
When will they come for Washington College in Chestertown, MD?”
Maybe Washington State, University of Washington and Washington State University will have to be renamed. Also Seattle since Chief Sealth had slaves.
Over the centuries, there have been far more non-Western countries who have owned slaves. There are slaves in Africa, slaves in the Middle East and China uses slaves for its cheap manufacturing.
Seems these folks will have to burn down the whole world to purge it.
There was a hilarious scene before a battle where Bragg told his troops to give the enemy hell. Polk added, "Now you boys give them what General Bragg said to give them."
Laughable. No one caught smallpox from a blanket.
you are full of shit.
It’s not your fault. ;-/
Thank you, buddy.
Since when do EMPLOYEES have any say in the name of whom they work for?
Talk about arrogance!!!!!
Every single one of these ‘professors’ should be fired for cause.
Another reason why TENURE is a farce.
John B. Floyd's father, John Floyd, was governor of Virginia and is the namesake of Floyd County, VA. The Floyd Counties in Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia are named for different individuals.
This is pretty well documented, and has been for a long time. Just Google “Amherst smallpox.”
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