Memorial Hall, Vanderbilt University
Memorial Hall | |
---|---|
Confederate Memorial Hall | |
General information | |
Town or city | Nashville |
Country | United States |
Completed | 1935 |
Owner | Vanderbilt University |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Henry C. Hibbs |
Memorial Hall (formerly known as Confederate Memorial Hall) is a historic building on the
History
The project was initiated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) as early as the mid-1890s and was supported by Peabody College president James D. Porter, a Confederate veteran and former Tennessee governor, in 1902.[1] Edith D. Pope, the second editor of the Confederate Veteran and a leading member of the Nashville No. 1 chapter of the UDC, played a key role in its construction. In addition, Pope and other members of the UDC made sure the college would offer a course on Southern history.[1]
The construction of Confederate Memorial Hall was supported by a $50,000 donation from the UDC in 1933.[2][3] The total cost of construction was $140,000.[4] The building was completed in 1935.[5] It was used as a residential building by female descendants of Confederate veterans who were selected by the UDC to live free of charge while they studied education.[5][2]
The building became part of Vanderbilt University campus in 1979 when the university acquired Peabody College.[3] By 1988, students were holding protests on campus, arguing the building's name was offensive to black students.[5] As a result, the university added a memorial plaque near the building to contextualize the origin of the name.[5][3]
When
In November 2015, students asked Chancellor
On August 15, 2016, the university announced it would remove the word Confederate from the building after receiving an anonymous donation of $1.2 million to repay the United Daughters of the Confederacy.[9][10] The UDC "reluctantly" accepted the donation.[11] Meanwhile, the university hid the word Confederate with a "temporary covering".[11]
Alumnus Clay Travis, a Fox Sports journalist, criticized his alma mater's decision to remove the word Confederate, comparing them to "Middle Eastern terrorists".[12] In response, Jack Daniel's canceled a $3,000 promotion deal it had with Travis.[12]
See also
- List of Confederate monuments and memorials
- Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials
References
- ^ OCLC 750779185.
- ^ JSTOR 24358016.
- ^ a b c d e f Jaschik, Scott (May 5, 2005). "Confederates Defeat Vanderbilt: Appeals court says university must pay -- if it wants to change controversial name of a dormitory". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ JSTOR 3134213.
- ^ "Vanderbilt Sued Over Hall's Name Change". The Washington Post. October 18, 2002. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- OCLC 62755581.
- ^ Woods, Jeff (November 17, 2015). "Vandy's Black Students Put Zeppos On the Spot". Nashville Scene. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
- ^ Tamburin, Adam (August 15, 2016). "Vanderbilt to remove 'Confederate' from building name". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
Anonymous donors recently gave the university the $1.2 million needed for that purpose; the Vanderbilt Board of Trust authorized the move this summer.
- ^ Koren, Marina (August 15, 2016). "The College Dorm and the Confederacy". The Atlantic. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
Vanderbilt will return $1.2 million to the Tennessee chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the present value of the $50,000 the group donated to the school in 1933 for the construction of the dorm. [...] The $1.2 million payment will come from anonymous donors who gave specifically for the removal of the inscription, the school said.
- ^ a b Tamburin, Adam (August 16, 2016). "Daughters of the Confederacy reluctantly accepts Vanderbilt deal". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Tamburin, Adam (August 17, 2016). "Jack Daniel's nixes Clay Travis deal over 'Confederate' controversy". The Tennessean. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
External links
- Media related to Memorial Hall (Vanderbilt University) at Wikimedia Commons