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| When the Names on Campus Buildings Evoke a Racist Past | When the Names on Campus Buildings Evoke a Racist Past |
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| College campuses have long been centers of social foment and student activism. In the 1960s, they were magnets for protests over the Vietnam War, and more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement forced schools to confront issues of racial justice and inclusion. | College campuses have long been centers of social foment and student activism. In the 1960s, they were magnets for protests over the Vietnam War, and more recently, the Black Lives Matter movement forced schools to confront issues of racial justice and inclusion. |
| The debate continues at many universities over whether the names of prominent racists and others who espoused controversial theories should be allowed to remain on campus buildings and structures. In response, institutions have begun to set up task forces to examine their histories and set standards for the future. | The debate continues at many universities over whether the names of prominent racists and others who espoused controversial theories should be allowed to remain on campus buildings and structures. In response, institutions have begun to set up task forces to examine their histories and set standards for the future. |
| Each university takes a different approach. The name of an Oscar-nominated actress was recently removed from a theater because of her role in a movie that romanticized the Ku Klux Klan. Elsewhere, faculty members confronted university regents over charged accusations of academic dishonesty. Here is how four universities handled a push to rename campus buildings. | Each university takes a different approach. The name of an Oscar-nominated actress was recently removed from a theater because of her role in a movie that romanticized the Ku Klux Klan. Elsewhere, faculty members confronted university regents over charged accusations of academic dishonesty. Here is how four universities handled a push to rename campus buildings. |
| Last month, the University of Minnesota board of regents held a special meeting to discuss whether to remove the names of four former university administrators at the school’s Twin Cities campus. A faculty-led task force had recommended they do so, saying the men had promoted racist policies. | Last month, the University of Minnesota board of regents held a special meeting to discuss whether to remove the names of four former university administrators at the school’s Twin Cities campus. A faculty-led task force had recommended they do so, saying the men had promoted racist policies. |
| The most prominent of the administrators was Lotus D. Coffman, the school’s president from 1920 to 1938. The task force said he excluded black students from university housing, medical training programs and athletics. | |
| Members of the task force spent several months studying the issue and, along with the university’s current president, Eric W. Kaler, supported removing the names. But shortly after the report’s February release, one of the regents, Michael D. Hsu, a management consultant, accused the task force of academic dishonesty, saying it left out information that would have vindicated Mr. Coffman. | Members of the task force spent several months studying the issue and, along with the university’s current president, Eric W. Kaler, supported removing the names. But shortly after the report’s February release, one of the regents, Michael D. Hsu, a management consultant, accused the task force of academic dishonesty, saying it left out information that would have vindicated Mr. Coffman. |
| In an interview, Mr. Hsu said he found letters written by Mr. Coffman that countered the task force’s research. He presented the information to his fellow regents. Some agreed with him. “My feeling and concern was this was not a good job,” he said. Members of the task force were not impressed with his sleuthing. | |
| “We’ve been called amateur historians by people who have Ph.D.s,” he said. | “We’ve been called amateur historians by people who have Ph.D.s,” he said. |
| Some people saw his comments as a war on scholarship. “Michael went to a dark place,” said Abdul Omari, who, until his term recently ended, was on the board of regents with Mr. Hsu. “In my opinion, he attacked the faculty.” | Some people saw his comments as a war on scholarship. “Michael went to a dark place,” said Abdul Omari, who, until his term recently ended, was on the board of regents with Mr. Hsu. “In my opinion, he attacked the faculty.” |
| At the meeting last month, the regents shifted in their seats as a group of 50 protesters taunted them. A woman in the crowd demanded that faculty members be allowed to speak. “This is a farce,” one student yelled. One of the men at the regents’ table called for officers to remove the protesters. More insults were lobbed. | At the meeting last month, the regents shifted in their seats as a group of 50 protesters taunted them. A woman in the crowd demanded that faculty members be allowed to speak. “This is a farce,” one student yelled. One of the men at the regents’ table called for officers to remove the protesters. More insults were lobbed. |
| “Hard things have been said,” Mr. Kaler told the crowd. “People’s reputations have been attacked.” What the university needed, the president said, was closure. (Mr. Kaler declined to be interviewed.) | “Hard things have been said,” Mr. Kaler told the crowd. “People’s reputations have been attacked.” What the university needed, the president said, was closure. (Mr. Kaler declined to be interviewed.) |
| Closure came. The board voted 10 to 1 against removing the names. Mr. Omari said he was the lone holdout. | Closure came. The board voted 10 to 1 against removing the names. Mr. Omari said he was the lone holdout. |
| “I never thought the board would vote to take the names down because they came from a politically charged standpoint,” he said. “People talked a lot about context. But I don’t know a context where racism is ever O.K.” | “I never thought the board would vote to take the names down because they came from a politically charged standpoint,” he said. “People talked a lot about context. But I don’t know a context where racism is ever O.K.” |
| On May 3, Bowling Green State University in Ohio announced it would remove the name of the actress Lillian Gish from a campus theater after students complained about her starring role in D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” a 1915 film once hailed as a masterpiece. Now the movie is widely criticized for its racist portrayal of African-Americans during and after the Civil War. Three months before Bowling Green’s announcement, members of the Black Student Union had approached university officials to ask that her name be removed because of her association with the film. | On May 3, Bowling Green State University in Ohio announced it would remove the name of the actress Lillian Gish from a campus theater after students complained about her starring role in D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation,” a 1915 film once hailed as a masterpiece. Now the movie is widely criticized for its racist portrayal of African-Americans during and after the Civil War. Three months before Bowling Green’s announcement, members of the Black Student Union had approached university officials to ask that her name be removed because of her association with the film. |
| The Gish Film Theater was named in 1976 for Ms. Gish, a celebrated film actress from the silent era, and her sister, Dorothy. Both women were born in Ohio; neither attended the university. | The Gish Film Theater was named in 1976 for Ms. Gish, a celebrated film actress from the silent era, and her sister, Dorothy. Both women were born in Ohio; neither attended the university. |
| Rodney K. Rogers, Bowling Green’s president, said in an interview that he had known little about “The Birth of a Nation” and had approved a task force to review the actress’s life and work. It released a report after members read her memoirs, listened to public remarks and spoke with her former agent, Mr. Rogers said. He recalled that Ms. Gish made a speech in 1983 saying that actors should take responsibility for their work. At the same time, he said, “the task force found no evidence that she tried to distance herself from the film.” | Rodney K. Rogers, Bowling Green’s president, said in an interview that he had known little about “The Birth of a Nation” and had approved a task force to review the actress’s life and work. It released a report after members read her memoirs, listened to public remarks and spoke with her former agent, Mr. Rogers said. He recalled that Ms. Gish made a speech in 1983 saying that actors should take responsibility for their work. At the same time, he said, “the task force found no evidence that she tried to distance herself from the film.” |
| The university’s trustees voted unanimously to remove her name. “We have gotten letters and emails saying we did not get this right,” Mr. Rogers said. “My response is, ‘I hope you read the report.’” | The university’s trustees voted unanimously to remove her name. “We have gotten letters and emails saying we did not get this right,” Mr. Rogers said. “My response is, ‘I hope you read the report.’” |
| “The past isn’t always rosy,” Michael Quick, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of the University of Southern California, said in a recent interview. “If we can’t figure it out as a university, how do we figure it out as a country?” | “The past isn’t always rosy,” Michael Quick, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs of the University of Southern California, said in a recent interview. “If we can’t figure it out as a university, how do we figure it out as a country?” |
| In February, Dr. Quick announced a task force that would establish principles and procedures for the removal of historical names from campus buildings and structures. The task force was prompted, in part, after students demanded last year that the name of Rufus B. von KleinSmid, a prominent figure in U.S.C. history, be stricken from one of the main buildings on the school’s Los Angeles campus. | In February, Dr. Quick announced a task force that would establish principles and procedures for the removal of historical names from campus buildings and structures. The task force was prompted, in part, after students demanded last year that the name of Rufus B. von KleinSmid, a prominent figure in U.S.C. history, be stricken from one of the main buildings on the school’s Los Angeles campus. |
| Mr. Von KleinSmid served for 26 years as the fifth president of the university, turning a sleepy smattering of colleges in 1921 into a Southern California powerhouse. He was also a prominent member of a leading eugenics organization, the Human Betterment Foundation, that promoted forced sterilization to improve human genetics. | Mr. Von KleinSmid served for 26 years as the fifth president of the university, turning a sleepy smattering of colleges in 1921 into a Southern California powerhouse. He was also a prominent member of a leading eugenics organization, the Human Betterment Foundation, that promoted forced sterilization to improve human genetics. |
| Dr. Quick said the task force would address issues of university history beyond Mr. von KleinSmid. “This is a much larger conversation about how people deal with the past and context,” he said. The task force plans to gear up in the fall. | Dr. Quick said the task force would address issues of university history beyond Mr. von KleinSmid. “This is a much larger conversation about how people deal with the past and context,” he said. The task force plans to gear up in the fall. |
| “As long as people bring open minds to addressing this,” he said, “we will work this out.” | “As long as people bring open minds to addressing this,” he said, “we will work this out.” |
| Southern universities, by far, have the most complicated histories. In May 2015, the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted to strip the name of William Saunders, a North Carolina legislator and Confederate soldier, from a building and rename it Carolina Hall. Student protests against Mr. Saunders began as early as 2001, with activists highlighting the fact that Mr. Saunders, a U.N.C. alumnus, held a leadership role in the Ku Klux Klan. | Southern universities, by far, have the most complicated histories. In May 2015, the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill voted to strip the name of William Saunders, a North Carolina legislator and Confederate soldier, from a building and rename it Carolina Hall. Student protests against Mr. Saunders began as early as 2001, with activists highlighting the fact that Mr. Saunders, a U.N.C. alumnus, held a leadership role in the Ku Klux Klan. |
| In 2015, as Black Lives Matter gained prominence as a national movement, trustees were impelled to act. Students held protests and demanded that Saunders Hall be renamed Hurston Hall in honor of the celebrated author Zora Neale Hurston, who is said to have attended classes at the university. The vote to rename the hall was not unanimous. But after a review, the trustees conceded that university leaders in 1920 made a mistake in citing Mr. Saunders’s role as head of the K.K.K. in North Carolina as a qualification. | In 2015, as Black Lives Matter gained prominence as a national movement, trustees were impelled to act. Students held protests and demanded that Saunders Hall be renamed Hurston Hall in honor of the celebrated author Zora Neale Hurston, who is said to have attended classes at the university. The vote to rename the hall was not unanimous. But after a review, the trustees conceded that university leaders in 1920 made a mistake in citing Mr. Saunders’s role as head of the K.K.K. in North Carolina as a qualification. |
| Unlike at other universities, the trustees at Chapel Hill enacted a 16-year moratorium on further name changes. U.N.C. students continue to protest controversial figures, though. Last year they toppled a statue of “Silent Sam,” a Confederate monument. | Unlike at other universities, the trustees at Chapel Hill enacted a 16-year moratorium on further name changes. U.N.C. students continue to protest controversial figures, though. Last year they toppled a statue of “Silent Sam,” a Confederate monument. |
| Cecelia Moore, a historian and project manager of the task force on Chapel Hill’s history, said the moratorium was agreed to because it “would take years to develop methods” to best explain the university’s history. She said her task force was charged with providing information, not implementing policy. | Cecelia Moore, a historian and project manager of the task force on Chapel Hill’s history, said the moratorium was agreed to because it “would take years to develop methods” to best explain the university’s history. She said her task force was charged with providing information, not implementing policy. |
| “We need to give the university time to better tell the history and contextualize events,” she said. | “We need to give the university time to better tell the history and contextualize events,” she said. |