University of Texas Removes Confederate Statues

[mystery-ak]

Monday, 21 Aug 2017 08:02 AM


University of Texas President Greg Fenves ordered the immediate removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."

Fenves announced the move late Sunday night as crews were in place to begin taking the statues down. The school also blocked off the area during the process, and the statues are expected to be gone by mid-morning Monday, a spokesman said.

more
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Confederate-Statues-Texas-University/2017/08/21/id/808738/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

merge?  http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,277817.0.html

[Sanguine]

The University of Texas at Austin Office of the President
Image of the University of Texas Seal

Dear Longhorns,

Last week, the horrific displays of hatred at the University of Virginia and in Charlottesville shocked and saddened the nation. These events make it clear, now more than ever, that Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.
 
After the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting in June 2015, and with the urging of students, I formed a task force of faculty, students, alumni and university leaders to evaluate six statues on UT's Main Mall that included depictions of four military and political leaders of the Confederacy. The task force presented five options, ranging from the installation of contextual materials to the removal of some or all of the statues. At that time, I decided to move the statues of Jefferson Davis and, for symmetry, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The Davis statue has since been restored and presented at UT’s Dolph Briscoe Center for American History in a scholarly exhibition about the Littlefield Fountain and the six Main Mall statues.
 
During the past several days, I have talked with student leaders, students, faculty members, staff members and alumni to listen to their views after the revelatory events in Charlottesville. I also revisited the very thorough 2015 task force report. After considering the original task force report and with the events of the past week and my discussions with the campus community in mind, I decided to relocate the remaining four statues.
 
Early this morning, the statues depicting Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, John Reagan and James Stephen Hogg were removed from the Main Mall. The Lee, Johnston and Reagan statues will be added to the collection of the Briscoe Center for scholarly study. The statue of James Hogg, governor of Texas (1891-1895), will be considered for re-installation at another campus site.
 
The University of Texas at Austin is a public educational and research institution, first and foremost. The historical and cultural significance of the Confederate statues on our campus — and the connections that individuals have with them — are severely compromised by what they symbolize. Erected during the period of Jim Crow laws and segregation, the statues represent the subjugation of African Americans. That remains true today for white supremacists who use them to symbolize hatred and bigotry.
 
The University of Texas at Austin has a duty to preserve and study history. But our duty also compels us to acknowledge that those parts of our history that run counter to the university’s core values, the values of our state and the enduring values of our nation do not belong on pedestals in the heart of the Forty Acres.
 
We do not choose our history, but we choose what we honor and celebrate on our campus. As UT students return in the coming week, I look forward to welcoming them here for a new academic year with a recommitment to an open, positive and inclusive learning environment for all.

Hook ’em,
President Fenves Signature
Gregory L. Fenves
President
The University of Texas at Austin

 

[Smokin Joe]

...saying such monuments have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."

The monuments didn't change one whit. All that changed is how the personages thus portrayed are allowed to be perceived, and that is neither the fault of a statue nor the person thus commemorated. It is the fault of a pathetically poor educational system and those who do not have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and correct the inaccuracies thereof.

Liberal Academics....>SPIT!<

[SZonian]

The monuments didn't change one whit. All that changed is how the personages thus portrayed are allowed to be perceived, and that is neither the fault of a statue nor the person thus commemorated. It is the fault of a pathetically poor educational system and those who do not have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and correct the inaccuracies thereof.

Liberal Academics....>SPIT!<

[Wingnut]

UT sucks and so does Austin.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

President Fenves Signature
Gregory L. Fenves
President
The University of Texas at Austin

[Sanguine]

UT sucks and so does Austin.

I listened to someone the other day tell me that she moved to Austin because "it's liberal like Portland."

I didn't know whether to cry or barf.

[Wingnut]

I listened to someone the other day tell me that she moved to Austin because "it's liberal like Portland."

I didn't know whether to cry or barf.

Austin always thought they were so cute.  That whole we are "weird" vibe.  They played that crap of f to the rest of Texas for far too long.  Now it is going to bite them.  Or so I hope.

[XenaLee]

The monuments didn't change one whit. All that changed is how the personages thus portrayed are allowed to be perceived, and that is neither the fault of a statue nor the person thus commemorated. It is the fault of a pathetically poor educational system and those who do not have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and correct the inaccuracies thereof.

Liberal Academics....>SPIT!<

Funny..... how, after hundreds of years....suddenly....all it took for the monuments to "become" offensive to a certain portion (albeit small portion) of the population....

was the election of a non-black President.  And they call US racists???

[Smokin Joe]

Funny..... how, after hundreds of years....suddenly....all it took for the monuments to "become" offensive to a certain portion (albeit small portion) of the population....

was the election of a non-black President.  And they call US racists???

How 'bout that?

[aligncare]

I have no doubt the Obama presidency sowed the seeds of this cultural revolution, or perhaps a more apt description might be racist upheaval.

[Smokin Joe]

I have no doubt the Obama presidency sowed the seeds of this cultural revolution, or perhaps a more apt description might be racist upheaval.

Those were ACORNs... Lots of them. With our money.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Austin always thought they were so cute.  That whole we are "weird" vibe.  They played that crap of f to the rest of Texas for far too long.  Now it is going to bite them.  Or so I hope.

Well, not always.

I grew up there and used to shoot jackrabbits along I35 on the Robert Mueller airport runway. and watched the Batman premier at the old Paramount theatre in 1966.
Austin started going downhill during the hippie movement of the late 60s as I recall.

Don't denigrate it prior to that time.

[Smokin Joe]

Well, not always.

I grew up there and used to shoot jackrabbits along I35 on the Robert Mueller airport runway. and watched the Batman premier at the old Paramount theatre in 1966.
Austin started going downhill during the hippie movement of the late 60s as I recall.

Don't denigrate it prior to that time.

America started going downhill during the hippie movement of the Late '60s.

[anubias]

Screw the teasips. 

[Wingnut]

[austingirl]

"The University of Texas at Austin has a duty to preserve and study history."

The dean contradicts himself by his chicken-$hit action.

[austingirl]

I got out Austin in 2011 and have not been back. The last draw was my formerly sane Oak Hill neighborhood going for Bammy.

[WhatWouldReaganDo]

Perhaps Mr. Fenves doesn't like to be reminded that Lee and Johnston fought for the winning side in the US-Mexican war.

[Wingnut]

Maybe Gov Abbott should pay the UT Pres a visit and discuss state funding with him.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Maybe Gov Abbott should pay the UT Pres a visit and discuss state funding with him.

I am sure Governor Abbott had nothing to do with getting a longtime Berkeley administrator into the top job at Texas.

The most effective push would be Abbott bending the ears of the Board of Regents, the ones responsible for bringing the California lib to erode UT Austin.

[berdie]

I didn't know whether to cry or barf.

May I cast my vote on that choice???

[Sanguine]

May I cast my vote on that choice???

Both?

[berdie]

Both?

Or maybe switch the order of response, lol?

[Sanguine]

Or maybe switch the order of response, lol?

Probably better that way.