UNIVERSITY Students eat at Newcomb. They study deep in the bowels of Alderman. They live in Page or Echols. Students spend much of their lives in these buildings that bear the names of long-gone, esteemed professors and University presidents, but little thought is given to who these people were whose names grace these Grounds. Upon closer examination, one finds that these names represent some of the finest minds this University has had to offer. But one also finds that the names carved into our red brick buildings offer a glimpse into the troubled past of the University, a past stained with subtle and not-so-subtle racism.
The University's struggle with racism started from its inception. It is well known that our founder, also the author of the Declaration of Independence, owned slaves. On one hand, Jefferson acknowledged, "the whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other." This moral discomfort with slavery did not preclude him from having deeply racist views. For such a brilliant man, Mr. Jefferson seemed almost schizophrenic in his commitment to freedom for some while others toiled away in his own gardens for no pay.
Even though formal slavery ended in the late 19th century, black Virginians were still bound and shackled by the ignorance and institutional racism of this University as well as in the rest of society. Dr. Paul Barringer, whose name still proudly sits atop a wing of the University medical center, was one of the chief advocates of the sinister pseudo-science of eugenics. He believed black men to be barbaric and simple-minded. To appease the black man, Dr. Barringer recommended: "Supply his bodily wants, including a woman, and he is happy under any social conditions."
Less is known about the former Virginia governor and University president for whom the business school is named. Colgate Darden presided over the University during the brief but dark "massive resistance movement." After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ruled that separate was inherently unequal, schools were consequently forced to integrate; Virginia political leaders responded by shutting down public schools rather than allow black and white boys and girls to learn together.
In his essay entitled "Envisioning Diversity: A Historical Perspective," University Professor of History Emeritus Paul Gaston called Darden a "man of uncommon dignity and humane sensibility;" at the same time, Darden refused to speak out publicly against massive resistance, all the while knowing it to be folly. This silence stemmed from his belief that schools should remain segregated.
Those disgusted by Darden's hesitance to integrate the University might not want his name on our prestigious business school. Surely there are better professors and presidents to immortalize. But rewriting the University's history and changing names on buildings will not absolve the sins of this school. Nor does it do any good to vilify past leaders of the University who were not as progressive in the civil rights struggle as enlightened academics should be.
The trouble is, few white Virginians stood up against massive resistance. Few white Virginians really wanted their sons to go to college with young black men. And like Barringer, many Virginians in their darkest hour believed black people to be simply genetically inferior. The most progressive were simply ambivalent. But while ignorance is never excusable, one should not dismiss generations of Virginians, including former leaders of the University, as morally bankrupt. Instead, these names forever will serve as a testament to the moral complexities and complicated character of humankind.
For a University that loves to mythologize its past, it may be difficult to move beyond simple legends or black and white portrayals of past leaders. It may be easier to paint over painful reminders of the University's past and replace them with more palatable names. However, in an academic setting, there is a moral imperative to remember the sinister figures of history. The best stories told are those with utmost attention to the truth, however unfortunate it may be.
Marta Cook's column appears Wednesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at mcook@cavalierdaily.com.
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