Bethinking history: should colleges continue to honor famous alumni who were racists?

• Author: Potenza, Alessandra
• Position: NATIONAL - Woodrow Wilson in Princeton University

Few historical figures loom as large in the life of a college as Woodrow Wilson does at Princeton University in New Jersey.

To honor Wilson--the 28th U.S. president (1913-21) and, before that, a Princeton alumnus and its president for eight years--the university created the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. It named a residential complex, Wilson College, after him; until recently, a TV screen in the complex's cafeteria displayed his quotations. And every year, the school bestows the Woodrow Wilson Award on an alum.

Princeton acknowledges--and even pokes fun at--its obsession with Wilson: Incoming freshmen are welcomed by a theatrical performance in which a student dressed like Wilson says: "Come into our Wilsonic Temple, a sacred space devoted entirely to our 28th president!"

But not everyone is amused. In the fall, a student group called the Black Justice League drew national attention to one aspect of Wilson's legacy that was seldom discussed: his racist views. The group put up posters on campus featuring some of Wilson's more offensive quotes, including his comment to a black leader in 1914 that "segregation is not humiliating, but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you." Students staged a walkout and a 32-hour sit-in in the office of the university president, and demanded that the public affairs school and residential complex be renamed.

"We don't want Woodrow Wilson's legacy to be erased," says Wilglory Tanjong, a sophomore and Black Justice League member. "We think it is extremely important that we understand our history of this campus. But we think that you can definitely understand your history without idolizing or turning Wilson into some kind of god, which is essentially what they've done."

Debates like the one at Princeton are going on at several campuses across the nation (see "What's in a Name?" facing page). Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., recently announced that it was removing from campus buildings the names of two of its former presidents who were involved in the slave trade. And Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is debating whether to change its seal. The three bushels of wheat on it are borrowed from the crest of the slave-owning Royall family, who helped fund the school's founding.

Those who favor colleges taking steps to refute--or at least de-emphasize--historical figures who held racist views say that continuing to honor them on campus is unfair to today's...