Princeton to remove President Woodrow Wilson’s name
Princeton has stripped the name of 28th President Woodrow Wilson of a university and school of public policy because of his “racist thinking”.
Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber announced Saturday that the institution will remove Wilson’s name from its school of public policy and a residential university.
“On my recommendation, the board voted to change the names of the School of Public and International Affairs and Wilson College,” Eisgruber said in a statement.
He added: “Council members concluded that Woodrow Wilson’s racist thinking and policies make him an inappropriate namesake for a school or university whose academics, students, and alumni must firmly oppose racism in all its forms.”
The president of Princeton University announced Saturday that the institution will remove the name of President Woodrow Wilson from its school of public policy (above) and a residential university.
Wilson served as president from 1913 to 1921, during the post-Reconstruction period known as the lowest point in American race relations.
A Democrat, he oversaw progressive policies and led the nation in World War I, in addition to establishing the forerunner League of Nations.
He was also the first southerner to be elected president after the Civil War, and oversaw the segregation of the federal government.
In a July 1913 letter to a civil rights activist, Wilson defended the segregation of government offices, arguing that it eliminated “friction” between races.
Famous during Wilson’s presidency, DW Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation, which celebrated the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, was the first film to be screened at the White House.
The film also cites Wilson’s historical scholarship at the KKK, but after viewing it, Wilson rejected the film, saying he had “not been aware of the character of the play before it was presented.”
Wilson as a Princeton student and then served as the president of the university. He is seen upstairs, holding his hat, as a college student at Princeton University’s Alligator Club.
Wilson had deep ties to Princeton, where he studied as a college student, and then became president of the university before becoming governor of New Jersey and president of the United States.
In 2016, the Princeton board rejected activists’ demands to remove Wilson’s name. choosing to take measures to highlight problematic aspects of its administration.
Eisgruber cited the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks as the reason to reconsider the move. They were all blacks who died in encounters with police or civilians.
“This scorching moment in US history has made it clear that Wilson’s racism disqualifies him” as a role model, he said.
“Wilson’s racism was significant and consistent even by the standards of his own time,” said Eisgruber, adding that the former president’s segregationist policies “make him an especially inappropriate namesake for a school of public policy.”
The Princeton School of Public Policy will now be known as the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Eisgruber said.
Princeton had already planned to close Wilson College and withdraw its name after opening two new residential universities currently under construction, but will change the name to First College immediately.
Candid photograph of Woodrow Wilson sitting at a wheeled desk at Princeton University, 1909
Eisgruber said the conclusions “may seem harsh to some” as Wilson is credited with having “remade Princeton, turning him from a dormant university into a great research university,” and then became president and received a Nobel Prize.
But while Princeton honored Wilson despite, or even ignoring, his views, that’s part of the problem, Eisgruber said.
“Princeton is part of an America that has often ignored, ignored, or excused racism, allowing the persistence of systems that discriminate against blacks,” he said.
Four years ago, a 10-member committee gathered contributions from Wilson scholars and more than 600 presentations from alumni, faculty, and the public before concluding that Wilson’s achievements deserved a commemoration, as long as his failures were also sincerely acknowledged. .
The committee report also said that using his name “does not imply endorsement of views and actions that conflict with the values and aspirations of our time.”
Earlier in the week, Monmouth University of New Jersey removed Wilson’s name from one of its most prominent buildings, citing efforts to increase diversity and inclusion.
The Camden School District Superintendent also announced plans to rename Woodrow Wilson High School, one of the district’s two high schools.
Woodrow Wilson’s troubled history with race and segregation
Wilson was the 28th President of the United States
Wilson served as president from 1913 to 1921, during the post-Reconstruction period known as the lowest point in American race relations.
Democrat, he oversaw progressive policies and led the nation in World War I, in addition to establishing the forerunner League of Nations.
His national agenda included the implementation of the federal income tax and the creation of the Federal Reserve.
He was also the first southerner to be elected president after the Civil War, and oversaw the segregation of parts of the federal government.
While Wilson did not order the segregation of the entire government, he did allow cabinet members to segregate their respective departments.
In a July 1913 letter to a civil rights activist, Wilson defended the segregation of government offices, arguing that it eliminated “friction” between races.
Famous during Wilson’s presidency, DW Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation, which celebrated the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, was the first film to be screened at the White House.
The film also cites Wilson’s historical scholarship at the KKK, but after viewing it, Wilson rejected the film, saying he had “not been aware of the character of the play before it was presented.”
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