Renaming Buildings on Campus

My semester-long research project is actually on the removal of confederate monuments in the United States, with Richmond and New Orleans serving as focal points. Going to a college located within a city with such a complicated history makes my research even more meaningful, as we continue to grapple with UR’s connection to slavery and the confederacy. I remember coming to campus last fall as a freshman and hearing rumors about an uncovered burial ground on our campus for slaves. It was not until January that President Crutcher released a statement declaring that there was enough evidence to assume that not only is UR built on a slave graveyard, but also a former plantation. Like with much of the history of people of color throughout the United States, these former slaves’ names and lives have been forgotten. Our conversations and push to rename Ryland and Freemen are important–I think the University made a huge mistake in not entirely giving these buildings a new name to represent other important figures in Richmond’s history. Freemen and Ryland are branded with a refusal to acknowledge our history. However, there are much larger consequences of not acknowledging the University’s contribution to racism and oppression–the names of the slaves buried beneath our feet and those who worked on our land will continue to be forgotten.

2 thoughts on “Renaming Buildings on Campus

  1. John Sinuk

    I 100% agree with you that Richmond did not make the right decision in regard to changing the names of Freeman and Ryland Hall. I also thought the emails sent by President Crutcher just sugarcoated the fact that the school doesn’t want to make changes because it would be too controversial. I just think it’s rediculous how apparent it is that money is the priority of the university over doing the right thing. It’s something that I believe will begin to affect the university more and more every year as more alumni will become more frustrated with these lackluster decisions.

  2. Grace Deller

    I agree completely and am glad that you related the conversation about buildings on campus to the removal of conferdate statues nationally. I think that there is a very important distinction between honoring and remembering history and celebrating people who have done overwhelming wrongs. Remembering the names of Freeman and Ryland may be historically significant, but celebrating and uplifting their lives by commemerating buildings in their names seems ridiculous.

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