Students at a Virginia law school are asking the administration to remove portraits of ‘controversial’ figures George Washington and Robert E. Lee from their graduation diplomas.
Current students as well as some alumni and staff at the Washington & Lee University School of Law are circulating a petition to allow graduates the option of omitting pictures of the university’s namesakes.
The men’s legacies as slaveowners, and Lee’s role as a general in the Confederacy during the Civil War, has made them increasingly controversial figures in recent years.
And the petition’s statement reads: ‘Given the aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville and the heightened awareness of making Washington & Lee an inclusive and compassionate environment to all students, we believe this request provides alumni the ability to honor their alma mater without the presence of the portraits that some may find controversial or offensive.’
Students at Washington & Lee University School of Law are petitioning for the option to remove the portraits of George Washington (left) and Robert E. Lee (right) from graduation diplomas
The Washington & Lee campus is some 60 miles from Charlottesville, where white supremacists held a rally in 2017 opposing the removal of a statue of Lee from a city park.
Clashes between the far-right marchers and counter-protesters led to violence. One counter-protestor, Heather Heyer, was killed when a neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd.
The petition specifies that organizers are not pushing for a ‘mandatory’ change to all diplomas, but the option for students to do so.
Organizers note that Washington & Lee’s diploma design has changed in the past to better represent student requests, like transitioning sheepskin diplomas to paper.
‘The goal of establishing this option is to create a diploma that alumni are proud to prominently display in their homes and places of work,’ the statement continues.
Several hundred people have signed the petition thus far.
Pictured: Washington & Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia (pictured) where Robert E. Lee was once the school’s president
A controversial Unite the Right Rally (pictured) took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was mentioned in organizers petition regarding the diplomas
The controversy surrounding some of America’s most well known and debated figures comes from their history as slaveholders.
Washington became a slaveowner at the age of 11 and would go on to keep more than a hundred of slaves at his Mount Vernon estate.
Upon his death in 1799, Washington freed the 123 individuals he enslaved at his home.
Robert E. Lee’s role as a leading commander in the American Civil War, a war that pins the country’s racist legacy, has marked him as a controversial historical figure.
The move to remove pictures from school diplomas aren’t the first step that students at the university have taken to reduce the prominence of Lee.
In 2014, Confederate flags were removed from the university’s Lee Chapel – where the general is buried – after protests by students.
In response to the petition, a group called ‘The Generals Redoubt’ has spoken out against the organizers request.
‘The General Redoubt (TGR) strongly disagrees with this petition which seeks to provide an option to remove the likeness of our namesakes George Washington and Robert E. Lee from the law school diploma,’ they said in a statement.
‘The Generals Redoubt is very concerned with this action which is seemingly supported by several employees of W&L and is concerned that the member of the careers services program does not see the harm in supporting such a petition and apparently failed to advise against such action.’
George Washington (left) and Robert E. Lee (right) have become controversial historical figures due to the roles they played in America’s history with slavery
The General Redoubt says that the petition is an attempt to upend the university’s traditions.
They said: ‘The petition is a symptom of strong undercurrents within the University to dismantle the traditions, values and history of Washington and Lee.’
‘The removal of the likeness of George Washington and Robert E. Lee, which adorns the offices and homes of many of our alumni is a severe affront to the generous and loyal alumni who respect the character and values of our namesakes.’
Monuments and memorabilia of Robert E. Lee (pictured) have been criticized on recent years because of the General’s history with slavery and the American Civil War
The General Redoubt says they are ‘necessary to bring sanity’ in response to the petition.
The debate at Washington & Lee is the latest in a string of American universities being forced to grapple with the historical figures who don their halls.
The University of California, Berkeley School of Law removed benefactor John Henry Boalt from four buildings and other references around campus.
Boalt was removed due to his fierce support of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Florida State University in Tallahassee has received requests to remove Florida Supreme Court Justice B.K. Roberts from its law school.
Roberts resisted integration policies and worked to deny admission of a black student into the once segregated law school.