Dive Brief:
- Campus protests over statues, names, and other monuments to a racist past have brought accusations of a desire to “erase history,” something historians can respond to.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that the American Historical Association’s annual meeting included a plenary session on this topic, and American Civil War Museum historian John Coski said his peers are equipped to distinguish between sovereignty and free speech, and the telling of facts about history and the glorifying of it.
- Historians, too, can bring context to a conversation about the presentation of history and how the removal of such presentation affects the history itself.
Dive Insight:
Many campuses are being forced to consider monuments and memorials on their campuses as a crisis response. Students are demanding name changes to buildings and entire schools, and they want statues taken down. Regardless of the response, some stakeholder group is likely to feel alienated by change or the lack thereof.
Failing to think carefully about an appropriate response is sure to be a bad business decision for college and university leaders. Creating a welcoming and supportive environment for students and faculty of color is a major step in recruitment and retention of both groups. The reputations college campuses have gotten in this wave of recent protests are sure to stick for years to come.