A Mid-Atlantic religious school is removing its makers' monikers due to their enslaving ways. Moreover, more than a million has been piled to pass out to people because of their bloodlines.
Since 1823, Alexandria-based Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) has trained future ministers. Formerly the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, it counts among its establishers "The Star-Spangled Banner" composer Francis Scott Key. Onto other foundational history, several key figures were slave owners. The college aches to erase those elements of less-than-lauded legacy; therefore, it's re-christening the following six structures:
- Madison Hall
- Johns Hall
- Meade Hall
- Sparrow Hall
- Moore Hall
- Wilmer Hall
The new titles eschew eponyms for generic notions such as Communion, Descendants, Mission, and Alumni. In a press release, the school's president -- Rev. Ian S. Markham -- shuns the old art of "honoring people":
The rationale is that we focus less on honoring people and instead on honoring certain themes and recognizing our link with Canterbury (Canterbury Hall) and our location near the Potomac (Potomac Hall).
Ian has elaborated to The College Fix:
“Some of the people buildings were named after had significant associations with slavery. The decision to rename these buildings reflects the Seminary’s desire to address the legacies of slavery and racism at VTS.”
He and the Board aren't alone in their efforts. Nationwide, names are being nixed:
Nature Journal Rips America's National Park Names for Honoring 'White Supremacy'
Revolution: To Fight Racial Injustice, the US Army Will Rename Nine Historic Bases
Lady Antebellum Changes Their Name, Apologizes for Making Anyone Feel 'Unsafe'
Lincoln's Name Yanked From California School: He Didn't Prove 'Black Lives Ever Mattered' to Him
University Removes Slave-Owning Benefactor's Name, His Family Demands Their $51 Million Back
To be fair, some names are still okay:
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George Floyd Gets His Own Exhibit - at a Holocaust Museum
BU Finds Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Research Center Managed Funds Properly, Despite Turmoil
University Christens Collective Space the 'Karl Marx Group Study Room'
In the name of justice, VTS is doing more than re-dubbing buildings. In 2019, it launched the Reparations Program. A couple years later, CNN offered an update:
Between 1823 and 1951, hundreds of Black people were forced to work for little or no pay on the campus as farmers, dishwashers and cooks, among other jobs.
How they were "forced" to work in 1950 remains unclear. Regardless:
[T]he school [has] set aside $1.7 million to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves who worked on its campus.
One lucky recipient was 65-year-old Linda Johnson-Thomas.
[Her] grandfather worked at the Virginia Theological Seminary for more than a decade, first as a farm laborer before moving up to head janitor.
...
[U]ntil two years ago, she had no idea [he] had been forced to work at the school...
Linda and her two sisters were the first benefactors of VTS's plan to give $2,100 annually to descendants of deceased workers.
Relatives will also be gifted "free use of amenities such as the cafeteria, coffee shop and computer lab."
In summary, people disconnected from the school will get checks while those who created it will get X'd. One of the latter -- Bishop William Meade -- was the third Bishop of Virginia. Evidently, such distinctions no longer hold weight.
As for Francis Scott Key -- also a slave owner -- he's already been scraped away; 2019 saw his name removed in favor of "Bicentennial Hall."
In select areas of the country -- and during a particular period -- people rich enough to build things were also people rich enough to own slaves. Some crossover undeniably ensued. Hence, more than a few notables are primed for the chopping block. Will America reach the point where enough from its annals has been axed? If so, it won't likely be soon. Meanwhile, the idea of reparations continues to have legs. We're walking toward a future absent of a past, one in which payments may be poured upon those who've hit a new kind of genetic lottery. So goes progress, in the empowered hands of equity's avengers.
-ALEX
See more content from me:
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Shocker: Socialist Cafe Named for Mass Murderer Is Accused of Being a Hotbed of Harassment
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