In 1935, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group that honors Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War, donated $50,000 to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. This contribution covered one third of the building costs for Confederate Memorial Hall, a dormitory that provided free housing for female students who were studying to become teachers and were descendants of Confederates. There was little controversy about the dormitory’s name until 1988, when renovations to the building brought it increased attention. Students who saw the word “Confederate” as an unnecessary reference to a racist institution voiced their concerns, and some African American students began refusing to enter the building.
Between 1988 and 2002, the Vanderbilt student government voted three times in favor of removing the racially charged word from the building’s name. Finally, after fourteen years of student endorsement, the administration decided last month to rename the dorm Memorial Hall, while keeping the plaques in the building’s lobby that commemorate the United Daughters’ contribution. The United Daughters of the Confederacy promptly sued Vanderbilt for breach of contract, claiming that as a major contributor, they were entitled to have their organization’s name on the building.
Vanderbilt is justified in its decision to remove from one of its buildings a word that many members of its community find racially offensive. The word “Confederate” may not have been considered offensive by many universities in 1935, but neither were segregated bathrooms. Just because these manifestations of prejudice were acceptable in years past does not exempt them from being changed to conform to today’s standards of cultural awareness. The United Daughters of the Confederacy must realize that times have changed drastically since they donated money to the building of Confederate Memorial Hall. Most significantly, Vanderbilt University was integrated in 1967. A donation to a university should not be intended as an advertisement for the giver, but as a gift to benefit the students, whose needs will change over time.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy were generous in their donation to the school, and they deserve some credit for it. However, they should keep in mind that it was the University who put up the other two thirds of the building costs for the dorm. If the United Daughters of the Confederacy are not satisfied with a plaque of recognition and the knowledge that their contribution continues to benefit students, then Vanderbilt needs to promptly refund their “gift,” with adjustments made for inflation. True, this would be a substantial amount of money. But with a $2.16 billion endowment to play with, it’s nothing Vanderbilt couldn’t handle, and it’s certainly not too high a price to pay for greater racial respect.
