Confederate Memorial Hall, now known as Memorial Hall, is a historic building on the Peabody College campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Accessibility information. Currently, David Graham atThe Atlanticreports,there are about 1,500 Confederate monuments on displayUnited States based onfederal, state, and local data compiled bythe Southern Poverty Law Center. In an interview with The Tennessean, Zeppos who arrived on campus as a law professor in 1987said he had long been in favor of changing the building'sname. And I think its a very sad day for a school with that kind of reputation to be condoning that.". 1989, Vanderbilt Universitys Online Privacy Notice, Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. At Vanderbilt, founded in 1873just eight years after the Civil War ended,the name change follows a series of changes made over the past year to address diversity, including the addition of a chief diversity officer to the university's leadership team. It spoke to a past of racial segregation, slavery,and the terrible conflict over the unrealized high ideals of our nation and our university, and looms over a present that continues to struggle to end the tragic effects of racial segregation and strife. It was designed by architect Henry C. Hibbs. In the past year, Zeppos also has announced a number of initiatives, including the appointment of a faculty committee to study and make recommendations on diversity, equity and community, and the establishment of three new faculty chairs to help advance Vanderbilts leadership role as a diverse and inclusive learning, teaching and living environment. "We are not saying this is not part of Vanderbilt's history," he said. Contact Us UPDATES ON THE CIVIL ACTION BY THE TENNESSEE DIVISION OF THE UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY versus VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY "Confederate Memorial Hall" UPDATE - Court of Appeals Soundly Reverses Trial Court May 3, 2005 -- The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled in a unanimous decision entered by Meanwhile, the university hid the word Confederate with a "temporary covering". The first word is being removed from an inscription on the building. Its stated purpose was to provide housing for young women who would become teachers at a time when they were sorely needed in the South. Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos (Vanderbilt University) Twenty-nine other schools, however, have not tried to change their Confederate names or have voted to keep them. Three years later, a state appeals court ruled that the only way Vanderbilt could proceed with its plan was to return the current value of the original donation. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appointed seven members to a special commission to reviewBaltimores Confederate statues and historical assets last September. This is a necessary and important step to continue to enhance the universitys ability to attract the most talented students and to ensure that our campus community is a welcoming place for all students to thrive and to learn.. But I don't think we should assume that our work is completed in any way.". Photo: AP Photo/The Tennessean, Ricky Rogers. Similarly, students at Princeton gave impassioned calls for the removal of all references to former US president Woodrow Wilson because of arguments that he was a racist and segregationist. The successful effort by Vanderbilt University to remove the word "Confederate," therefore, represents more than erasing the historical name of the residence hall or giving a middle finger to Confederate heritage organizations, although it may be interpreted as such. Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. When he suggested Vanderbilt University would have to repay the US$50,000 donation adjusted to inflation, the university dropped the lawsuit. Anonymous donors recently gavethe university the$1.2 million neededfor that purpose;the Vanderbilt Board of Trust authorized the move this summer. October 5, 2016 This article was written in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Historical Review. Zeppos said, in an open letter, the funds will come from anonymous donors. Students, faculty and high-ranking administratorsargued passionately to remove the word at a town hall on the subject last fall. The residence hall bearing the inscription Confederate Memorial Hall has been a symbol of exclusion and a divisive contradiction of our hopes and dreams of being a truly great and inclusive university, he said. Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets. Beauregard, as well as over 140 regimental and other C.S.A. Jason Daley is a Madison, Wisconsin-based writer specializing in natural history, science, travel, and the environment. At the time, school decided they did not want to enrich the Confederate organization and left the inscription. In retaliation, Travis lost a US$3,000 promotion deal he had with Jack Daniel's. This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name. It is currently being refurbished and will be placed in a museum at the schools Briscoe Center for American History, reports Scott Neuman at NPR. A month later, the Confederate battle flag that had been hangingand padlockedto a pole at the South Carolina state capitol for half a century was officially removed. Memorial Hall, Vanderbilt University The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that Vanderbilt could only drop the name if it paid back the money. Our debates and discussions have consistently returned over these many years to the same core question: can we continue to strive for that diverse and inclusive community where we educate the leaders that our communities, nation and world so desperately need, with this hall as so created? It is bounded by Hauts-de-France and Ile-de-France to the west and Bourgogne-Franche-Comte to the south. Its stated purpose was to provide housing for young women who would become teachers at a time when they were sorely needed in the South. The statue was taken down in July 2015 after a judge ruled against the Sons of the Confederacy, who sued to stop the removal. The project of Vanderbilt, much like the project of America, reveals that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.. However, the United Daughters of the Confederacy sued the university in the Davidson County Chancery Court. This action demonstrates the administration's attentiveness to student needs and concerns, as well as sets a great precedent for advocating on behalf of those who may feel marginalized on our campus, Fowler said in the university statement. Vanderbilt first sought to change the name in 2002. The Confederate Memorial Hall (sometimes calling itself the " Confederate Embassy ") was a museum, library, and social club owned by the Confederate Memorial Association and located at 1322 Vermont Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. A Tennessee appeals court ruled the school could only remove the inscription if it returned the 1933 donation to the group at its value in current dollars. Confederate Memorial Hall, Vanderbilt University Site Development: Digital Strategies (Communications and Marketing.) For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact In June 2015,Dylann Roofentered theEmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and proceeded to kill nine black people engaged in a bible study. "And to walk past it or to have to live in that space is really something that I just don't think is acceptable.". Students and the university meanwhile took to referring to the dorm simply as Memorial Hall. The message of this article consist of the history behind the Confederate Memorial Hall residence at Peabody College and the plan of the chancellor to sandblast the name " confederate" off the building.The residence hall was later acquired by Vanderbilt University. The decision to change the name of the building was not made lightly. Distribution and use of this material are governed by Memorial Hall is a historic building on the Peabody College campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Privacy Statement Also on the chopping block:a plaque honoring theBattle of Liberty Place,an 1874 clash in which members of the White Citizens League battled the municipal police, effectively ending Reconstruction and implementing segregation in the city. From Strasbourg in the East to Nogent-sur-Seine in the West, the Rgion Grand Est covers 57,441 km. "It is important that we recognize the delicate balance between respecting history and being offensive, Rawlings-Blake said at the time. Various institutions, public and private, in the United States have reconsidered and removed Confederate references and imagery in the last year, most in response to the mass shooting of members of a historically black church in Charleston in June 2015, perpetrated by a gunman who had posed with the battle flag in pictures before the rampage. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. This article is about the dormitory hall at Vanderbilt University. Their voices joined the debate over the meaning of the Confederateflag and monuments that has raged in the United Statessince the Civil War. In January, the committee recommended givingthe Lee &Jackson Monumentto the National Park Service, which could place it on a Civil Warbattlefield inVirginia. "It hopefully says we have listened, we have made changes. Since then, theres been a push toward de-Confederatizing in Texas, with 10 schools dumping names honoring rebel generals or politicians,reports Isabelle Taft at The Texas Tribune. Zeppos also announced that the university will establish a major annual conference on race, reconciliation and reunion. All rights reserved. "Roger B. Taney is a monument that symbolizes racism," commission member Donna Cypress said, as Broadwater reports. Confederate Memorial Hall and Jack Daniels - Ultimate Flags Blog [2] By 2005, Judge William B. Cain of the Tennessee Court of Appeals concluded that the word Confederate was not about slavery, but about the fallen soldiers of the Confederate States Army, who defended their land against Northern invaders. They voted to remove monuments ofGeneralRobert E. Lee and General P.G.T. But there was a problem,reports the Associated Press: because the city didn't own the equipment to remove the monuments, it hired a contractor, H&O Investments to do the job. Confederate Memorial Hall, now known as Memorial Hall, is a historic building on the Peabody College campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. This is an excellent next step in the direction of becoming an institution that not only admits diverse students, but ensures their care and supportone that is eager to eliminate any barriers that may stand in the way of such a goal.. Confederate Memorial Hall Confederate Memorial Hall was constructed in 1935 on the campus of the former George Peabody College for Teachers with partial funding from the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Description [3] However, the university used the name "Memorial Hall" in their publications. [12] In response, Jack Daniel's canceled a $3,000 promotion deal it had with Travis. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. 5,559,051 inhabitants or 8.4% of the French . The building was acquired by Vanderbilt University when it acquired Peabody College in 1979. The South's largest religious institution wants Confederate flags gone, The Southern Baptist Convention voted to urge its congregations to stop displaying Confederate flags. The Confederates were murderers and traitors; their heirs terrorists and cowards. In compliance with a 2005 Tennessee Court of Appeals decision, the university will pay the Tennessee Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy $1.2 million as a return in present value of $50,000 the organization contributed to the George Peabody College for Teachers in 1933 toward the buildings construction and naming rights. Vanderbilt will pay the sum with gifts from anonymous donors designated to be used specifically for this purpose. The Sons of Confederate Veterans thenfiled a lawsuit, claiming the mayor did not have the authority to get rid of the 121-year-old obelisk officially called A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Armies of the South and To Our Confederate Dead.. flags. This is one of a number of changes that have been made at Vanderbilt in recent years to create a positive, inclusive environment, and to ensure that the Universitys facilities and symbols do not inadvertently reflect values that are inconsistent with its mission. Last August, the University of Texas removed a bronze statue of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, that had stood on campus since 1933. Grand Est Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. 2205 West End Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. Home Economics Building, Mayborn Building, Old Gym, Dyer Observatory, Hawkins Field, Confederate Memorial Hall, Vanderbilt University Wikipedia. As of now, there has been no final decision on the fate of the monuments. Memorial Hall, a dorm at Vanderbilt University, used to be Confederate Memorial Hall. Confederate Memorial Hall opened 1935 with support from United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Tennessean Vanderbilt decision result of deep consideration Vanderbilt University's renaming of Confederate Memorial Residence Hall is the result of more than a decade of thoughtful. Vanderbilt Confederate Memorial Hall When students move in to Vanderbilt University this weekend, only the words "Memorial Hall" will remain visible on one building in the freshmen commons.