Criticism from multiple parties has surfaced since Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter announced plans for a contextual plaque in front of the Confederate solider statue in the Circle on Friday, March 11.
The news release contained the proposed text for the plaque, which was drafted by a committee Provost Morris Stocks appointed.
Later that day, the UM NAACP released a statement in opposition to the wording of the plaque. The group called for the administration to “revamp the proposed language” so it more accurately explains the memorial’s original intent and its history.
“The administration of this incredibly diverse university woefully fails its students, faculty and staff when it does not accurately acknowledge the true history of the Confederacy,” the statement said, citing slavery as a motivation of the Confederate party during the Civil War.
A meeting to discuss the plaque’s language will take place Thursday between Vitter, the contextualization committee and the UM NAACP.
The news release Vitter sent out in a mass email to the campus community said the plaque is part of the University’s continued efforts to recognize its history.
The plaque is designed to contextualize the history of the memorial statue. A concrete pad for the plaque has already been laid and the plaque itself is planned to be in place by the end of the month.
Stocks appointed four committee members to draft what the plaque would read. The committee members included: assistant to the Chancellor for multicultural affairs Donald Cole, African American studies director Charles Ross, Professor Emeritus of history David Sansing and retired chief of staff to the Chancellor Andy Mullins.
Both a copy of Vitter’s news release and the UM NAACP’s statement can be found at thedmonline.com.
The Daily Mississippian will follow the story as it develops.
