Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond He has been at the forefront in trying to remove a statue of former Texas A&M President Lawrence Sullivan Ross, also known as “Sully,” from campus. Mond and his companions led a march tonight, which ended at the statue.
There, the Aggies players were greeted by people guarding the statue. They did not shy away from the peaceful confrontation, particularly Mond, who ended up speaking.
You can watch the full video below:
Kellen Mond at the Sul Ross statue: pic.twitter.com/lgpvB08B15
– Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) June 26, 2020
Mond has strengthened the drive to remove the statue, which was erected in 1919 and is located in the center of the Texas A&M campus at College Station. Ross was a former brigadier general in the Confederate Army and was responsible for the murder of many African-Americans on his march toward preserving slavery in the South. Mond has said that the contributions of the former Texas A&M president to the university do not overshadow his violent and discriminatory past.
The Aggies quarterback said there has been much more support in the past few weeks.
“I told everyone that in my opinion I felt there is 100 times more support,” said Mond, via Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle. “At least that’s what I’ve seen. I’ve even changed my mind and even opened people’s minds and hearts to the side they’ve never seen before. Especially when I came out with this statement, I wasn’t necessarily extending my opinion. I just wanted to testify facts, and however you have interpreted it, then that is your choice As I said before, I have never been separated or seen such bad ignorance in person.
“I’m an Aggie until the day I do. This Aggie ring means a lot to me. But at the same time, I feel like we can be so much better as people. Not just me, but everyone else. On this campus, alumni and people in this area. A lot of people say that racism doesn’t happen on campus. But a lot of the tweets and hashtags have shown that statement to be wrong. I feel like this university is a great university, but I think it has a lot more to it than change “.
Mond first publicly expressed opposition to the statue in a statement posted on social media on June 16.
“Texas A&M University values don’t align with racism, violence, slavery, and segregation, but Jimbo Fisher’s most prominent saying will always stick with me: ‘Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying ‘”. Mond wrote. “The Lawrence Sullivan Ross statue needs to be removed. Texas A&M University, I need to see action.”
Thousands of people have signed petitions on Change.org both to remove the statue and to remain. The protests spread across the campus on both sides of the discussion earlier this month. Aggies President Michael K. Young he said he would “Invite discussion for action with a diverse group of leaders and voices to meet regularly with senior leaders and myself.”
