As a white person on-campus, it is very difficult for me to weigh in on this as walking past the names of Ryland and Freeman on buildings around campus I will never understand what African American’s feel. I think as Kendall and Tess touched on, it is important to address the history of this campus and acknowledge where the money that has allowed this school to grow has come from. We cannot move forward if we ignore what has happened in the past so I think like what was done with freeman hall (attaching another name to the front of it that being one of Freeman’s slaves) should also be done to Ryland Hall. I think forcing people to learn about the darker history of this campus sparks a necessary conversation among everyone about how this country and our community can continue to progress past its racially-divided and discriminatory roots and support communities of color.
Critical Thinking
As a fellow white person on campus, I also know that it is not my decision or story to tell because I will never truly know how Black Students feel, but as a jewish, LGBTQIA+ Identifying student, I know what it feels like to be marginalized and disgusted by something that continues to perpetrate beliefs against your identity/history. I completley agree with you that We cannot move forward if we ignore what has happened in the past, And I also think that discussing “the darker history of this campus sparks a necessary conversation among everyone”, but I also see how, from another perceptive , combining the name of a former slave to freemans name could also be offensive, as it combines the perpetrator with the perpetrated, and could also be seen as offensive as well. It is overall is a hard situation to come up with just one solution for.