The University has announced plans to expand historical contextualization throughout campus with a larger committee and more input from the public.
A plaque was added to the Lyceum Circle at the University of Mississippi, conveying historical context of the Confederate statue. Photo by Marlee Crawford
With more feedback, Ole Miss will continue efforts to review the Confederate memorial plaque language at the head of the Circle as well as look at other controversial buildings on campus such as Johnson Commons, Lamar Hall and Vardaman Hall.
“(Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter) has asked these groups of faculty, staff, (and) students to give him advice on the credentials of individuals he should appoint, the optimal size, the charge and scope of the projects to undertake (and) the mechanisms for input and suggestions,” Donald Cole said.
Cole is the assistant to the chancellor concerning minority affairs as well as one of the four original members of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context that also includes Andrew Mullins, retired chief of staff to the chancellor; Charles Ross, African-American studies director and David Sansing, professor emeritus of history.
Cole said several groups who have given input suggested the committee should have at least eight to 12 members including the original four.
Cole said Vitter has been visiting and hosting groups to seek further input on how to proceed in expanding the committee membership and to hear a variety of opinions. However, some groups have yet to respond.
“We expect him to outline a procedure for expanding the Contextualization Committee,” Cole said. “I and my colleagues do not see ourselves as a ‘plaque committee’ but as a committee charged with contextualizing many of the buildings and monuments on campus in a holistic approach as opposed to a single entity.”
The plaque contextualization was part of the 2014 action plan. The original plaque language has received criticism on and off campus from groups and individuals who feel the plaque is not contextualized sufficiently as well as others who believe the University should refrain from adding any context.
After the plaque language was originally released in March, it received criticism from the UM chapter of the NAACP, which issued a statement and said the language, as it was written, needed to be “revamped.”
Additionally, Ole Miss faculty members and graduate students expressed displeasure with the current language including the English department faculty and history department faculty among others.
Assistant Professor of History Anne Twitty headed the history faculty letter to the chancellor and stated the plaque needed an additional revision from a historical perspective.
Ole Miss historians agreed unanimously there was a need for a more comprehensive statement regarding Confederate memorials across the South.
Both the history faculty and NAACP were disappointed the plaque cite slavery as the cause of the Civil War, among other issues.
Others citizens, such as Mark Stone, think less is more.
Stone, a nearly 30-year veteran, said the contextualization disrespects soldiers who have died in the name of serving their country.
“That’s just like going up to the Vietnam War Memorial and calling those guys baby killers,” Stone said. “That’s the same disrespect.”
Stone said he is proud of his family history of military service regardless of which war they fought.
Cole said the committee is continuing to take suggestions and opinions through its website whether the feedback is positive or negative.
The context committee has received negative feedback for the language, but since the committee has been gathering more information it has received more than 500 emails that were mostly positive, according to Cole.
Later this year, Chancellor Vitter will give a more definitive statement that announces future plans and additional committee members.
“We won’t know (the chancellor’s) decision until he unveils it, and, again, I think that will be very soon,” Cole said.
