Forum confronts history of Vanderbilt's Confederate Memorial Hall

When a Tennessee appeals court rejected Vanderbilt’s 2002 bid to change the name of “Confederate Memorial Hall,” the university was put in an uncomfortable situation: keep the name “Confederate” — which many on campus found offensive — or pay the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) the nearly $1 million they spent on the building.

On Sunday night, 162 attendees gathered to participate in a discussion on this conflict, entitled “Memorial Hall: Its origin, history, and evolution.”

Hosted in the Student Life Center and moderated by Dean of the Commons Vanessa Beasley, the panel discussion focused on the history and current implications of the name Confederate Memorial Hall, as well as more general problems related to race on campus.

Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos opened the discussion by highlighting that Vanderbilt is a diverse community — emphasizing the importance of race specifically.

“For Vanderbilt and America, the central question, the central challenge, the central failure is really the question of race,” Zeppos said. “Vanderbilt’s own history reflects the failures and trying to meet challenges. I would say that one of the (challenges), the main focus of tonight, is what I would call ‘names and symbols.’ Names and symbols in history.”

Zeppos acknowledged that the situation is more complicated than covering up the “Confederate” label on the building: “I’m not quite prepared to go to jail to ignore the court order,” he said.  Rather, Zeppos said the conversation is aimed at reclaiming the name, and answering questions as Vanderbilt tries to “remake its own history.”

The history

James Floyd from the Office of the General Counsel started the panel, walking through the legal history of the dorm’s name.

In 1913, the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) made a pledge of $50,000 to Peabody College, which — at that time — was a college separate from Vanderbilt University.

Under donor law, the UDC were given the privilege of naming that building. The UDC chose to bestow the name of “Confederate Memorial Hall” on the resident dormitory, pushing to allow all female descendants of Confederate soldiers to live in that space without paying rent.

When Vanderbilt purchased the Peabody campus, Vanderbilt inherited Confederate Memorial Hall — and its name. In 1989, Vanderbilt placed a plaque on Memorial Hall, noting that the building’s purpose was to serve all students, not those originally identified as beneficiaries by the UDC. The previous agreement to provide free rent for UDC females was abolished.

With that adjustment came hopes to change Confederate Memorial Hall’s name, as many found it offensive. When Vanderbilt made concrete efforts to legally rename Confederate Memorial Hall, the university was met with backlash from the Tennessee Division of the UDC.

In 2005, a Tennessee appeals court decreed that the only way to remove “Confederate” from the hall was for Vanderbilt pay back the donors their original gift at its present value, a sum somewhere between $900,000 and $1 million. Vanderbilt refused to do so.

“Still now, ten years later, that is the context we are in,” Floyd said. “We have this revocable, charitable gift with the subject conditions. Of course with Vanderbilt being here to continue now in the conversation.”

The problem

Richard Blackett, Andrew Jackson Professor of History, characterized the hall’s name as a “historical error” — a product of a Vanderbilt that was, in 1933, segregated.

“The decision to build (and name) Confederate Hall is predicated on the assumption that this is the segregated institution in which blacks are absent,” Blackett said. “It is an institution that comes at a time when many people are still being lynched in the south, where blacks have no political power.”

According to Blackett, the removal of Confederate flags and the removal of the statues of Tennessean Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest are examples of correcting historical errors.

“Now that we do have rights it seems to me that all across the United States, efforts are being made to rectify what was a historical injustice, a historical wrong,” he continued. “It seems to me that we have an opportunity here to think very seriously about ways we can rectify a wrong right here on campus.”

Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs David Williams reflected on his past experiences working to diversify Vanderbilt within the university's administration, and struggling with pushback on the Confederate Hall issue.

While Williams acknowledged that for some, the Confederate name is seen as paying homage to their relatives who fought in the war, he said it has a different meaning for him.

“While you see that name, and you see that flag as honoring your ancestors, I see, and people who look like me see, that name as representing slavery and racism,” Williams said. “And that has not changed, and will not change. You can call it a battle flag, you can do whatever you want, you can call it a rebel yell. To me, it represents slavery and the continuing aspect of racism in this country.”

Jalisia Singleton ‘14, who co-founded the group Hidden Dores, provided a different perspective on the issue, informed by her recent experiences with persisting racism on Vanderbilt’s campus.

“The issue (of having a Confederate Memorial Hall on campus) is not the history,” she said. “If it were just the history, we would have been able to chalk it up to, 'this is the south.' We could draw attention to the history of what has happened in the south. The issue is the present. And the truth is that racism does exist on this campus.”

“Existing as an ‘other’ on this campus is alienating,” Singleton said. “Not only do our peers facilitate our alienation, but the university, faculty, and administrators have yet to acknowledge, have yet to put action behind the conversation on that has been happening regarding diversity and inclusion on campus. I think that’s the area we are still lacking is the action.”

Looking ahead

A plaque was recently added to the exterior of Memorial Hall recognizing the history of the litigation surrounding Memorial Hall.

Singleton suggested that the $1 million that Vanderbilt refuses to pay to the UDC should be allocated to change campus culture surrounding race, to ensure all students, regardless of their diverse backgrounds, feel welcome here.

During the question and answer session, there was also discussion about requiring academic standards for courses in diversity, after one student said during the Q&A that he was a white male who could go through his Vanderbilt education without discussing race in an academic setting. Beasley pointed to the AXLE Perspectives requirement, but still others argued that there is a need for something more.

Another recurring subject in the discussion was about defining terms like "inclusion" and "diversity."

Akaninyene Ruffin, president of the Multicultural Leadership Council and leader of Hidden Dores, raised the concern that the campus isn’t ready for serious change on racial issues on campus.

“We’re sitting at a place where this event would be filled if it was Diwali. It would be filled if it were discussing something entertaining,” Ruffin said. “But my question to the faculty and the administration that is here is, do you think we are fostering a community that is ready to address this problem, and that is willing to go to a school that equitably treats people who have been marginalized here, at this particular university, for centuries which is what Confederate Memorial represents?”

Several panelists also mentioned the need for action that goes beyond conversation — Williams referred to the need for people at Vanderbilt to "walk the talk." Singleton emphasized that these conversations in themselves do not constitute a “solution.”

“We should be cautious to feel as if we have been healed by having this conversation,” she said. “Because we’re not done and there’s still a lot to do. And if your conscience has been assuaged at any rate by having this conversation today, you might need to go back and revisit a lot of what has been said tonight.

“Because there’s still much more work to be done and we still need to figure out how we’re going to take action against not only the racism in the nation, but also what’s happening on this campus — institutionally, structurally, and also just blatant bigotry. “